


Unfair Stories From The Dead

by ardrgz



Category: Original Work
Genre: Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Universe, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Originally Posted on deviantART, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24464698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardrgz/pseuds/ardrgz
Summary: The story of a victorian era, in a land where magic is being questioned, ghosts are haunting the town and people is dissappearing, we see the story of Lewis, a man that is looking for a cursed relic.One day, everything went against him and his life became a swarm of problems...
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 3





	1. Crime is of the living and the dead

**Author's Note:**

> There it is! The story I've been woking (and still working on it) since 2017!  
> Finally felt a little less insecure about posting it on the web.  
> I want to thank to all my friends and my sister for supporting me everytime with my work. I love you guys.  
> Sorry if there are some grammatical mistakes, I've never written something that long in english.  
> This is an original story with original characters.
> 
> I'll keep uploading the next chapters that I'll be writting, so stay tuned!
> 
> I hope you like it, please tell me what you think about it!  
> Please check my other social media to find my art of this story.

Retired from the city of Nethertown, almost in the vicinity of the forest, was a secluded mansion. In half an hour, the clock would show three in the morning and during that freezing night, the residents of the mansion were preparing to go out hidden in the gloom. There lived the retired writer, Edward Mortensen. A phlegmatic man of silent words, his hair and mustache were as dark as the jet of his dead eyes.

Even with his coldness, Edward accepted in his heart a woman, Leonora, and he dragged her into a lonely life.

Leonora had worked a few years as a teacher, being a very intelligent and understanding woman, with long copper hair.

Often, she was wearing a long wine-colored dress that matched the color of her lips. They could be classified as a relatively young marriage, been married for fifteen years, and no matter what, support was mutual between them. Despite all the love and support, Edward could feel a great emptiness deep in his heart, an emptiness that was caused by a major loss to him long time ago.

And since that fateful night, the writer paid tribute to him once a month. However, out of every twelve tributes, there is always one in which the visit is special ...

He went down the stairs of the mansion along with his wife, until he noticed that his beloved stopped, and cast a nostalgic glance at the rooms above.  
—It will be fine, we must go now, Leonora.  
—I know, my dear, but it doesn't stop worrying me ... Who will take care of him? —frightened, the woman began to create more drawbacks on her own.

—Lately, the city has had many crimes involved with magic and where we are going, is a recurring point of those stupid warlocks. What if one day we don't return home? —she added anxiously, almost on the verge  
of refusing to make the trip.

  
Edward tenderly hugged his wife and gently stroked her hair, seeking to reassure her. In a warm and serene voice, he told her that everything would be fine as every month.  
— We must go now, remember that _dead ones do not like to be forgotten...  
_  
And so, both left their dingy home and boarded their little black car, driving to the graveyard to visit that important loss.

During the night abyss, many insolent people wander freely to commit deplorable acts.  
There are all sorts of them: drunkards who come out of bars, muggers, warlocks... but, the worst were the ghosts, those who attacked even the most helpless person. However, the nightlife was not always riddled with ruthless individuals, it was also perfect for shadow watchmen, the treasure hunters.

Hidden among the depths of the forest, was a small hut, however it was spacious inside because in it, a group of treasure hunters gathered every night.  
They were around twelve people and the leader of the group. This leader was an older man, whose wrinkles and gray threads of hair denoted his experience in the whole matter of witchcraft. A simple and dedicated man, whose name was Marcus.

Marcus was standing in front of the group. It had been a while since the talk started and everyone had finally reached a conclusion.  
—I won't repeat it again, Lewis. Your task today is to find it, you know that the _cursed relics_ cannot be spoiled out there. —said Marcus in a serious tone, imposing a mission on that boy who showed some discontent on his face.   
Lewis was recognized in the group for his extensive knowledge of witchcraft, supplementing Marcus's findings on several occasions. However, he was also recognized for his stubborn character.

The stubborn young man was also the kind of person who always cared for his appearance, wearing an elegant suit tmade by himself. Unlike his sympathetic mentor of wrinkles and gray hair, Lewis was a strong youth, with a long black hair, which was held by a purple garter.

—Do you realize that you're asking me to break into a dead man's rest? If the police find me, I'll be done! Not to mention the possible torment thah may his ghost gives me… —Lewis replied in a gruff tone

Suddenly, one of those present, a girl with copper hair, very short, white complexion and medium height, replied between the conversation.  
—He's right, I don't think he's mature enough for this kind of mission, he will ruin everything as always. —it was Luna, who with her sarcastic comment sought to humiliate her brother.

—Oh shut up, silly, I am capable of that and more — replied Lewis, looking resentfully at Luna.

  
Hazel, a young man with dark skin and curly hair, intervened between the siblings.  
—Is the relic really that important right now? For the past few weeks I have seen a red-haired girl at the market who is talking to everyone about warlocks and ghosts... — Hazel continued.  
—People take her for crazy, but she could attract the attention of infiltrated warlocks, we should shut her up. — 

—We'll deal with the girl later. This relic caused the death of an old acquaintance, it must be prioritized before someone else finds it. —Marcus replied to Hazel.

The mentor suddenly directed his gaze to Lewis, to return to the matter of that object.  
—Listen son, even if the police interfere, we will all try to help you.  
Lewis looked away at the floor. The annoyance of doing such a dangerous mission, plus, with the judging glances of his companions, made him very uncomfortable. Marcus tried to convince the young man in any way, so she made an agreement with him to reassure him.

—Once you finish your mission, try to find me on the outskirts of the cemetery. If I don't see you arrive in an hour, I'll go find you.  
Not entirely convinced, Lewis grimaced and accepted the agreement. He left the hut, there was a shovel out there waiting for him. The young man took the shovel and put on his hood to finally leave the place with an obvious discomfort on his face.

Lewis walked for a few minutes camouflaged between the darkness of the night and the undergrowth of the forest, until finally finding the graveyard.  
He was hiding among the tombstones and searching for with the name "Evans Grimm" carved in the stone. It was impossible for him to search further along his path, as he noticed a couple of beings getting closer and closer.   
It was the Mortensen, who had come to visit their old friend.

Who else would visit a cemetery at night? Only a warlock would be capable. And if the couple looked at him, they would mistake him for one of them. Even though Lewis denied it.  
Quickly, Lewis hid himself between the grass and the headstones so as not to be seen by them.

Edward walked over to the graves and walked a bit between them, while Leonora watched him a little further removed from the set of tombstones. The man squatted down in front of one of the tombstones, sighed and replied with a certain melancholy in his tone of voice.  
—Evans, my old friend ... I know it was my fault. I never thought it would end like this… —and from his chest pocket, took out a small flower that sparkled like stars.

  
He dropped the little flower in front of the tombstone and it vanished in the wind, thus ending the monthly visit. Hidden but attentive, Lewis continued to listen to the words of that mysterious man.  
—When my time comes, I'll look forward to be with you and apologize. Until then, I hope you find peace in your rest. —Edward stood up and went back to where his wife was. Leonora passed her hands over her husband's face and tiptoed, kissing him softly on the forehead. They both walked to their car and drove into it, until Lewis lost sight of them.  
The intrigue was all over his body, so he decided to leave his hiding place to see what the tombstone said.

  
«This is! Definitely!» Lewis thought, and immediately began digging into Evans' grave. The depth of the burial was not that big, so after a while, the shovel hit the coffin. The young man dropped the shovel and with his hands opened the coffin that was supposed to contain the unfortunate corpse. Covering his mouth and nose with his left arm to avoid the smell of putrefaction, Lewis found a body in a cadaverous state. He had ligaments coming from his skull, these were still attached to his jaw. His eyeballs were dry, and what little hair he kept fell out with every move Lewis made.

In spite of everything, the suit that carried the corpse was still well kept.

«Yuck, this smells terrible ...» he thought, while, with his right arm, was looking for that relic in the body of the deceased Evans. As desperate as he was searching from top to bottom, over and over, the object was nowhere to be found. After examining the corpse from head to toe, he assumed that his search ended here, without satisfactory results.  
—No... it's not here! Dammit! —and slammed the coffin shut. The young man stood up and emerged from the grave.

  
Once his feet touched the solid ground, he looked down, focusing his eyes on the coffin.  
—Excuse me, Mr. Evans, I didn't want to do this, so I don't need your ghost to torment me to death. Thank you... —commented in a sarcastic tone

And with the shovel, he began to accumulate the pile of dirt he had taken out to put back into the hole.

Immediately, Lewis remembered that melancholic man who was wailing in front of the grave just a few minutes ago. Why was he visiting a grave in the late night? Why was he apologizing to the deceased?  
«Surely that man stole the relic! Aside from warlock, thief, how despicable... I have to inform the group of this!» After that brief deliberation, he set off for the forest to give his hypothesis to the group.

Almost setting a foot outside the cemetery, when he remembered that Marcus would come looking for him. And if his father didn't see him, he would think that the police would have arrested him for his "peculiar" ways of visiting the deceased. Lewis then decided to return to the cemetery, to see if Marcus was on the outskirts waiting for him, or even looking for him, as he had previously said.

While the young man searched for his mentor, Edward and Leonora remained in the cemetery, a little further in the path. On the way home, a small engine failure avoided them from keep going. The husband got out of his seat and opened the hood of the car to examine what happended.  
—Honey, sure you can fix it?  
—Of course, it is just a small inconvenience.

The woman then looked up, observing the sea of stars that shining in the sky. Suddenly, the insecure husband asked her:  
—Do you think ... we did the right thing by losing contact with my sister?

Puzzled by the sudden question, Leonora answered.  
—Well ... she tried to hurt us. Even if there's a shared blood bond, there are certain things that should not be forgiven. —shrugged and in a low voice continued.  
—I'm only concerned with the fact that our little one grows so lonely ...—Leonora added after a brief silence.

Edward sighed. He closed the hood of the car and without saying anything, sat back in the seat. Again, the car worked great.  
—You know we can't expose him much... —he answered his wife.

The man drove a few seconds to leave the cemetery, until suddenly he began to sweat coldly and stopped suddenly.  
—It can't be, I forgot the last step!

With all the despair, he turned the car and tried to get back to where the tombstone was, driving as fast as if life depended on it, because it was about to dawn.

A little tired and disoriented, Lewis was still wandering around the cemetery, looking for Marcus, when by surprise, the car where the couple was, ended up hitting him. The unfortunate boy's body flew up from the impact, and fell violently to the ground. Some bones were heard to creak, including those of his neck, dying instantly.  
The couple got out of the car immediately, being stunned by what had just happened.

—Edward, we just killed this boy! —Leonora said, almost on the verge of tears.

  
Edward remained calm and stooped to get a better look at the dead young man lying on the ground. Perhaps he was more anxious about reaching the tombstone sooner, or perhaps his prejudices made him say:  
—Surely he was one of those warlocks looking to interrupt the dead for their stupid curses...

Back on his feet, he turned to see his wife.  
—Don't feel bad for him, nobody will miss a dirty warlock...  
The writer bent down again to take the body of the unfortunate boy.

—Best thing to do is throw it into the ravine. I cannot allow another death to stain the name of our family...  
When Leonora overcame the shock, she helped her spouse carry the body, then tossed it between the two of them toward the ravine. The corpse was rolling down the landslide until it was hidden in the darkness and the mistreated grass of the place. And so both became murderers...

In this period, the sky began to paint a light orange, announcing the departure of the first rays of the sun. And Edward, still haven't completed that last step so desired that caused the unfair death of the alleged warlock.  
—No! It can't be! —exclaimed desperately, with his hands on the head, because he felt like he was going to lose it in at that moment.

They had no choice but to wait for Evans' will... With no other options, the couple lost coming home, remaining silent for the rest of the trip, trying to forget what they had done.

Upon entering the mansion, guilt and anxiety filled the environment. They both knew what they had done. They said nothing to each other, but both wanted the same thing: that the "warlock" they murdered, had no family or friends who wondered for his whereabouts. Edward carried more weight on his conscience, he didn't know if this boy really was a wizard or he just wanted to think he was, to avoid being drowned in guilt. Leonora looked upstairs.  
—I think he's still sleeping ... Ed, honey, we'll see how we can get through this together. —said in a tone of relief as dhe tried to touch the shoulders of his beloved.

  
Edward had a lost gaze, pale skin, and heaviness on his feet. His legs were shaking so badly that seemed hard to him to walk to his study under the stairs. The writer opened her door, before setting foot inside, turned his head towards his wife, with his eyes stick to the floor.  
—I'll see how I can solve this ... I'm sorry to drag you into this life, please forgive me. —commented in a toneless voice, indicating great shame. And bravely, he closed the door of the study.

  
Distressed by the events, Leonora walked to the living room and with her eyes looking around the room, battered tapestries that covered the wall, there was bookcases in each corner, full of old books, many of writings written by her spouse. She walked to the center of the room and began to contemplate the painting of his family, which hung above the large fireplace.  
After a few seconds of admiration, she opened a curtain that hid a window outside, in order to witness the city being bathed in the rays of the sun that slowly peeked out.

Although she believed blindly in what her husband had said to her in the cemetery, she still felt sorry for the boy who threw down the ravine. With his eyes lost, looking down at the floor and his voice faltering, sighed in vain.  
—I'm sorry that you couldn't see this sunrise ...  
It was as if her body was facing the window, but her mind was lost in a sea of emotions and thoughts.

Marcus already had some time in the cemetery, started to get a little impatient. He was looking for Lewis, but there wasn't signs of him. «I wonder if he has gone ahead to the outskirts ...»  
so he decided to stand on the dirt road in front of the tombstones. The road strongly captured his attention, because it had some car tire marks, just in front of such marks, it had something more disturbing, some blood stains.  
Anyone with tales of clues fearing the worst.

Intuition made him turn to the ravine. Impulsively, he peeked out taking the security fences. He looked down as he made out the motionless body of his disciple.  
—What the hell?! It's not possible !!—screamed terrified, and without hesitation twice, he jumped over the fence and slid down the mudslide, while he tried to stand upright.

Being close to Lewis's body, he checked the boy's pulse and realized that he was dead. However, the corpse showed no signs of putrefaction or rigor mortis, so it quickly loaded it.  
—You'll be fine, son... —Marcus said, as he looks for a way to climb the landslide to return to the house where the group lived.

After an hour, between efforts to climb and a path to walk, Marcus entered the house, while the rest of the hunters, stunned, observed their deceased companion. One of them helped Marcus lay Lewis's body on the floor. Luna pushed her companions to see Marcus face to face.  
—Marcus, what the hell just happened? —asked, very exalted.  
—I don't know, but ... we have to let Lewis tell us.

Marcus turned to see the group and raised his voice.  
—Quick, bring the prisoner's lamp. We will have to make an exception ...

Quickly, one of the members went down to the basement of the hut, looking for the relic the leader had requested. After a minute, he was back, with the lamp in his hands, and quickly handed it over to Marcus. The lamp had silver handles and the most remarkable thing about it, was the shape, it was like a large glass sphere. Inside it there was nothing. Below the sphere hung a small white pearl.

Marcus passed the lamp over the body of Lewis while muttering some unintelligible words. Suddenly a bright light emerged from the lamp, which pierced the glass it, shattering into samll pieces.  
The pearl which hung from the lamp was tinted a faint grey. The light floated and faded as it touched the dead body.

As if he had dreamt he was falling through the heavens, Lewis got up suddenly, feeling agitated, terrified, but his heart didn't respond to that feeling... actually, there was no heartbeat.  
—What happened to me?! What did you do to me?! —he asked, as he got more and more terrified with every question he asked.  
—I found you dead outside the cemetery. I had to trap your soul in your body, I had no choice... —answered Marcus as he showed him the broken lamp.

  
—But... what do you mean that I'm dead? What am I going to do now that I'm just a ghost with a body?! I didn't want to do this mission!! I knew it would end badly, everything I do ends badly!! Damn it, I'm trying to cry but nothing comes out!! —Lewis was desperate trying to make sense of his unique new existence, when Marcus suddenly slapped him in the face to reassure him. Although he felt no pain, was surprised by the sudden action, and immediately stopped talking.

When things calmed down, Marcus explained to the group what he had seen before he arrived, as Lewis commented on what he remembered doing before he died.

—I was looking for you, Marcus, I crossed the dirt road, and the last thing I remember is that just as I turned to my right, a black car was almost on top of me.

Before even finishing the sentence, Lewis remembered watching the couple leave the cemetery in a black car. He was totally convinced that it was the same car that took his life.  
—That man murdered me! I'm sure he knows I already know he has the relic!  
—What man are you talking about? More importantly, how the hell does he have the relic? —asked Luna, as she shared a confused gaze with Marcus.

—Before I checked Evans' grave there was a man mourning his death and suddenly he dropped a bright flower which vanished. I am sure he is a wizard and is trying to retrieve his gadgets.

The group was stunned by Lewis' response, and instantly began to argue with each other about what to do. Marcus stopped all the hustle and bustle and in the silence that remained, Lewis addressed his companions.  
—I remember how he looks, I'll take care of it —he stood up from the floor and put his cape back on.  
—Are you going to look for him? In this condition?! At least let us come with you! —exclaimed Marcus.  
—No, you just said it yourself, just look at my condition! What if the warlock kills you too? And the damn lamp is broken now... —he replied indignantly.

The group watched with some displeasure the discussion between the dead young man and his mentor, who were angrily looking at each other face to face.  
Marcus raised his voice, imposing authority.  
—I cannot allow you to expose yourself to another danger!  
—Oh, don't worry, you've already failed, I'm already dead! You're a great leader! —Lewis shouted in a way that sounded more annoying than sarcastic.

  
He turned his back on Marcus and the rest of the group, who were visibly uncomfortable with the dispute. The young man began walking toward the exit, when he stopped and turned to see his mentor.  
—Now let me finish what you can't do...

Marcus was distressed by all the discussion, and from the discomfort in the air he looked sadly down at the floor. Ready, Lewis went to the door, and just before he opened it, Luna stood between him and the door, preventing him from leaving.  
—Luna, get out of the way.  
—What are you going to do, huh? Go back to your past misdeeds and try to avenge your death?  
—Oh, don't be an idiot! No! I just want to get the stupid relic back and finish this stupid mission!  
—How can I trust you?  
—I'm more trustworthy than you, you little minx! —he shouted angrily as he tried to force Luna out of his way. Both their patience had been exhausted in enduring each other.  
—Hey, don't touch me, you fool! —claimed Luna very annoyed, as she tried to hit Lewis, until Marcus separated them both, before they started a bigger fight.

  
—Daughter, please move aside and let Lewis finish his errand.

Resentful, Luna obeyed, as her blood boiled at the sight of Lewis leaving the hut. Marcus, however, stopped him on one shoulder.  
—You're better than before. Please, promise me you won't avenge the damage they did to you. —started as he plucked the pearl from the lamp and gave it to his disciple in his hands.  
Lewis spent a couple of seconds thinking, looking into the void. Then he nodded his head, saying nothing, implying that he would keep his promise. He walked away into the woods, ready to finish what he had started.

He began by searching for the house closest to the forest, the mansion aparted from the city, the Mortensen mansion.  
He was fortunate enough to hit with the suspects on the first attempt at his quest. His suspicion was confirmed when he recognized the wife of the mystery man, who was in one of the windows looking out to the horizon. After a few seconds, Leonora retreated from the window and so, Lewis decided it was time to go inside.

Careful not to be seen to the residents' eyes, he struggled to open one of the first floor windows. The mansion had certain luxuries, tapestries that, though somewhat old, decorated the rooms with elegance, varnished wooden furniture, long carpets on the floor, and a few retired bookcases. «Certainly they are bookworms...» thought with some disgust.  
Lewis searched through the furniture and drawers for the whereabouts of the relic, but found nothing.

He opened a drawer which was full of letters, all from a certain "E. Lovestone." He noticed that one of these letters was open, and didn't hesitate to read what was written on it, thinking that these letters were hidden because they spoke of something secret, like a cursed relic.

> _My dear brother:  
> _ _  
> I know you want me to stay away since you are not capable  
> _ _to forgive what I did to you.  
> _ _But tell me: Do you think your friend Evans would forgive you?  
> _ _What I've done is not as bad as your mistakes.  
> _ _  
> Until then.  
> _
> 
>  _With contempt: Elise Lovestone._

  
«Ugh, this only confirms my suspicions about this thieving warlock... »He stubbornly crumpled up the letter and closed the drawer. Poking his head out of the room, he looked up at a staircase in front of the front door.  
These led up to the second floor. Running out of search options, Lewis thought the second floor would be the place to find what he was looking for.

He left the room he was in, barely lasting a few steps when he came face to face with Leonora. She expected to see her beloved, thinking that might he had regained the courage to leave his studio, but was surprised to see that unfortunate young man whose life she had taken.

Her pupils shrank, she began to sweat cold, her skin became almost as pale as the corpse in front of her, and her heart was beating at a very fast pace.  
—No, it can't be, you were dead! —shouted in great terror.  
—Wait, please listen to me!  
—We've had enough of ghosts and warlocks, leave us alone! —the woman ran to what appeared to be the kitchen, while the infamous corpse was after her.

Leonora grabbed one of the knives that were on a piece of furniture, just as she was caught from behind, Lewis was pinning her with his arms and covering her mouth to prevent Edward from coming to get her, and so more trouble would arise. Leonora accidentally dropped the knife and tried to get out of the boy's arms, but she could barely move her head without him noticing.  
Between sudden movements, both of them accidentally hit a shelf full of dishes and glass cups, making an awful racket.

The commotion was heard by Edward, who quickly left his studio to see what was happening. Aware that an intruder might be waiting for him, he grabbed a revolver that was hidden in his mysterious room. Determined, Edward left his study, making sure to lock the door quickly.  
—Who's there? Show yourself! —he shouted, while Lewis felt in danger, in a point of no return.

A thousand things went through his mind, as he held Leonora still in his arms. As he tried to peek out of the room to see where the man was, he accidentally tripped over one of the broken dishes, falling to the floor with Leonora.

As the woman tried to pull herself out little by little, her head was misplaced, and when she fell to the floor, her neck thundered loudly, causing immediate death. Lewis heard the woman's bones creak, and, frightened, released her immediately.  
He looked at her face carefully: she had a tattooed expression of despair, no air escaping from her nose, and the rapid beating of her heart was absent.

«Shit, this can't be happening!» Lewis cried out inside him in despair. He had failed his mission, killing an innocent woman, with an angry "warlock" waiting for him and without the relic.  
He decided to flee like a coward to another room nearby, it had a full bookcase in every corner and a fireplace.

He ignored all of this when his eyes were focused on a window whose curtain allowed a view of the outside. He thought of opening it and escape, but stopped when a small "click" sounded behind him.  
When he turned back, he looked at Edward standing, threatening him with a gun, while with a hostile voice he said:  
—You? I knew you were a freaking wizard... —Lewis, frightened, ran to him and began to try to snatch the gun from his hands.  
—I don't want any more trouble, just hand over that relic! —after hearing these words, Edward was petrified, with his eyes full of horror.  
—Those cursed relics were a mistake! I should never-- 

Those words barely came out of his mouth when the gun went straight for his head, due to the movement that both had provoked. Edward fell dead to the floor.  
Lewis had broken his promise, and even if it wasn't his fault, no one would believe it was a misunderstanding.  
«But... Corpses can no longer die... Why did I panic with the gun?!»he wondered in his mind.  
—Agh, I'm an idiot!! —shouted in annoyance and picked up one of the books with which he began to hit his head over and over

After several blows to his head, Lewis stopped when he noticed that on one of the pages of the book there was a divider  
It wasn't just any divider, it was a picture of a boy, he had big eyes and misaligned black hair.

Perhaps his intuition made him pay attention to the painting upon the fireplace. What he saw made him feel even more guilty about his atrocity.

In the painting, theere was Edward and Leonora, but in the middle of them was the little boy with wild black hair, huge eyes and a big smile. 

  
They were a family and Lewis destroyed them.

—Fuck, what have I done... —he dropped to his knees as he continued to look at the family painting, with thousands of thoughts drowning him in guilt.

When Lewis left the cabin, most of his companions went to start their daily routine. They might be treasure hunters, who were looking for relics, but this wasn't their full-time job.  
Only Marcus, Luna and another of his companions, Hazel, remained there, and in the end they decided to look for Lewis.

He might already be dead, but he could also still be in danger if his suspicion was right: many dead people can be afraid of warlocks. Thinking that perhaps the "wizard" lived in the city, they took a path that was relatively short, through the mansion near the forest.

They spent a few minutes walking, until Luna managed to catch her companion kneeling inside the mansion.  
—Hey, there he is! —said Luna to his companions.

Lewis managed to see them and went immediately to the window, preventing them from seeing Edward's body behind them. He signaled that he would wait for them at the front door.  
His companions understood but seemed confused by the request, yet they obeyed the boy.

After a brief moment, Lewis had opened the door to his companions who let him in. Then Marcus asked him:  
—Where is the sorcerer? And the relic?  
The dead boy wanted to disappear from the face of the earth at that time...

He was looking at them with an obvious sense of guilt. His companions quickly sensed what his eyes meant.  
Luna let herself go impulsively against him.  
—You murderer!! If we had known, we would never let you be a treasure hunter!! —she shouted at him furiously as she grabbed him violently by the shoulders.  
—I'm not a murderer, they died by accident! —he replied in the same anger as she and tried to get her arms off him.

—Luna, Lewis, stop it! Behave yourselves! You're acting like children! —exclaimed Marcus, who with the help of Hazel, separated Lewis and Luna from their childish fight.

—Son, tell me what happened here... —commented, stressed as he held his hand to his temples, while Hazel kept holding Luna, because she was still determined to keep hitting Lewis.

  
Lewis told them everything that had happened since he left the hidden hut, explaining that he tried to sneak in, but things got out of control, and the worst thing was that even with everything, the relic was conspicuous by its absence.  
—I don't know what to do... I think they have a son! —he added in desperation.

At these words his three companions were absorbed. Marcus said only two words.  
—... Holy shit.

Luna took his mentor and Hazel by the hand, withdrawing a little from Lewis so they could discuss what they would do. Lewis stayed away, waiting for his teammates' decision. Amidst whispers he heard phrases like: "Do you think it will work?" and "No, we won't kill the boy!"

It took two minutes for his teammates to approach him again and Marcus let out the big surprise:  
—Lewis, now you'll be the one to take care of that kid.  
—Haha no... No, you've got to be kidding me —replied sarcastically.  
—You're the one responsible for leaving this child without a family! Take the responsibility! —replied Marcus with authority.

—Goddamn it, just bring them back to life like you did with me! With the stupid lamp!  
—You saw for yourself that it broke while I was still carrying it! And broken relics don't work! I gave you the last pearl, you know that, Lewis!  
—Oh, but I also know that you want to throw me into a life of misery by raising a brat I don't even know! —replied Lewis, who, if his body would allow him, would be crying with desperation right now.

His companions looked at him with several mixed feelings within themselves.  
—We'll take you out of the group temporarily until you find a family member from the marriage who can take care of the child. In the meantime, we'll try to distract the police from investigating the case.

With no other options, Lewis was forced to accept his father's decision and carry the burden of his mission. The treasure hunters took the couple's bodies and removed them from the property to give them a proper burial.  
Between them, they cleaned up the mess and the blood in the rooms where the crime scene took place.

It was time for the gold diggers to return to the shadows. Before they left, Marcus and Lewis spoke one last time.  
—I'll keep looking for the relic, I promise.  
—It's not necessary. Just take good care of the boy.

Lewis continued, with an even more melancholy tone to his voice.  
—But... -I'm scared of ruining everything again...  
—We'll always be here to help you, don't forget, son. —and so his companions went away, hiding in the woods as the rays of the sun rose over the horizon, indicating the beginning of a new day.

Nostalgically, the boy leaned back against the wall and sighed, thinking about what his life would be like from now on.  
—Mom? Dad? Why didn't you wake me up? —a childish voice was heard yawning, coming down the stairs.

Lewis immediately went out the window he had struggled with before.  
—Did you went out to the city? I suppose so... —that mysterious voice sighed sadly.

The young corpse ran quickly to the entrance of the mansion and knocked on the door, hoping that the boy would open it.  
—Ah, I'm coming, Papa! —the boy could be heard from inside.

  
Suddenly, the doorbell began to move and the door opened.  
There he was, in front of the boy with big eyes and black, flowing hair. While he had in front of him the murderer of his parents, only he didn't know it.

The little boy looked at the boy from head to toe, his attention seemed to be caught by the pompous tie he was wearing. However, the boy spoke with some concern.  
—Go away, stranger. You're not my mom or dad... —and he started to close the door, but Lewis put his foot right in it to avoid losing communication with the boy.

  
—I'm not a stranger! I'm your cousin Lewis and your parents sent me to take care of you! —immediately the kid opened the door and looked in amazement at the guy he had refused to let in earlier.  
—Do you know my parents? —before Lewis even answered this question, the little boy had already asked another question.

—Dad never told me that my auntie Elise had children, I haven't seen her in years... How is my auntie Elise? And her husbands? —nervous by questions about people he never met before, Lewis remembered the letters that were in the drawer a couple of hours ago and decided to continue the conversation with the boy.

—Oh, that Lovestone! Yes, I'm her son and she's very well!  
The little boy looked at the boy with astonishment and happiness, as if he had found someone he had been looking for for a long time.

—Hey, my mom Elise didn't tell me she had a nephew either... Called? —he continued, while making some gestures with his hands, inciting the boy to say his name.  
—I'm Allen. You're more than welcome, Lewis! Come in!

With the permission of the mansion's sole resident, Lewis settled into his new home  
This little encounter would mark the beginning of a very different life for both of them..


	2. Pretending a normal life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now accepting his new life, Lewis takes Allen to meet the unknown outside world, and in their adventure, they will discover more about the threats that haunt the city.

With the night already over, the young man took it for granted that the life of a night hunter would not return... At least, not after a while. Allen invited Lewis to sit in the dining room, while he brought him a box full of sugar cookies.  
—Come on, take your pick! —said Allen enthusiastically.

His body was already rotting more and more. What would happen if he took a food that was obviously going to rot too? Besides, neither ghosts nor corpses suffer from hunger, and Lewis was lucky enough to be both, or rather, unfortunate.  
—No thanks, I'm not hungry... 

Surprised by the response, Allen insisted a couple more times and on that couple of times, he received the same response, so he decided to put the box of cookies away.   
Lewis felt some sympathy, rather pity for the boy, so he tried to talk. However, the little boy's curiosity outweighed his pity, so the conversation was initiated by Allen.

—Oh, right! Where did my parents go? Where are they? Nervous but ingenious, he replied.  
—They had an unplanned trip... they didn't tell me where, so don't ask me. Ha! They were lucky to find me in town!   
—You were in town? So you're not living with my Aunt Elise anymore? —Of course not! What kind of adult lives with their mother? —and offended, he stood up from the table and looked away from the child.

Puzzled and disgusted, Allen raised his voice against him.  
—Hey, how quickly you get offended! No wonder my Aunt Elise never told us about you...

The young man had enough of always hearing the name of a stranger who, judging by the letters, was a manipulative woman.  
—What about you? You only know about your aunt?  
—Well... She's the only person I've ever met aside from my parents...

After these words, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Assimilating this response, Lewis was intrigued to know more about the little boy he was going to take care of for a long time. At the same time he felt guilty for raising his voice to him for no reason. Slowly he approached him and bent down to his level.

—Hey kid, so you don't have any friends?   
—No, I never left my house. My parents homeschooled me, Mom worked as a teacher before and that helped me a lot. And my dad made me have a taste for books —at the mention of this last word, Allen's face lit up and he immediately grabbed Lewis by the clothes as he took him to another room.

—You should see the books my dad wrote! There are so many!   
—Hey, don't pull my clothes! —with a quick step, the two of them arrived at one of the rooms... Specifically, where Lewis had committed his crime, the one with the family painting hanging over the fireplace.

Allen ran to one of the shelves and began searching through the books. Lewis, on the other hand, stood in front of the room. He watched as the eyes of the couple in the painting judged him, as restlessness and anxiety ran through his being.

The little boy noticed the absence of their visit. He looked out of the room and noticed that the boy was motionless, almost petrified.  
—What's wrong? Lewis, look at these books, your uncle is very talented!

Uncomfortably, Lewis walked towards the boy, who proudly showed him the books his father had written. Carrying one in each hand, Lewis took both books from his small hands and Allen turned his body over in search of another pair.

Their titles were even more repellent: _The Man with the Phantom Heart?_ Written by Edward Mortensen.  
 _The Legion of the Faceless?_ The latter was also written by Edward Mortensen, with the difference that it claimed to have the participation of Evans Grimm...

Lewis wondered «Why would a kid read these things? Or rather, why would a father allow it?»

—Look, my favorites! —Allen already had a couple of other books out, one in each hand. Without looking at it, Lewis put back the books the boy had given him earlier.

The little boy looked at the action in confusion and without hesitation, he asked:  
—Is it because you can't read? I could read them for you!   
—No, it's not that! It's just that I think... I think I'm a bit hungry, do you want to go to a restaurant? 

A look full of fear was painted on the infant's face.  
—To a restaurant? You mean, to go out? Outside? I can't, my parents forbid me to go out... 

Lewis remembered what Allen had mentioned to him.   
«Damn it, he' s right! This brat has never left his mansion... Wait, he was forbidden to leave? But I want to run away from this mansion. Agh, but I can't leave him alone...»

Trying to figure it out, he continued with the proposal.   
—Come on, it'll just be something for a quickie and we'll be home as soon as possible, I promise.

However, Allen continued to make excuses for the proposal.  
—But what if my parents find out? I don't know. They'd be really mad at me, and I don't want them to--  
—They're not gonna find out! And if they do, I'll take the blame. I promise. —Lewis interrupted immediately.

Allen's concern slowly faded, being replaced by a mischievous smile.He accepted the offer and told Lewis to wait for him at the door, because he would quickly get his cloak and go out.   
The young corpse left the room, feeling a slight relief that he did not feel the presence of the eyes of the painting.

He was standing in front of the stairs, in front of the front door, next to a coat rack almost as high as him, while he waited for the infant.  
Allen's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, he came from above wearing a navy blue cape, made to his measure.

His little hands poked out of the cape, carrying a brown raincoat. When he came down the stairs completely, he handed the raincoat to the young man.Lewis looked at the raincoat with insecurity. He thought it belonged to Allen's father.

—Put it on, it might be cold outside and it's not good to get sick because you'll have to see a doctor. And doctors are scary!

Uncomfortable, he obeyed his request and put on the raincoat. As he put it on, Allen talked to him about this one.  
—My parents bought it for me a few months ago, they say I should wear it when I'm older but it looks like you can wear it now. You're too tall!

  
The young man felt relatively good about the compliment, but felt even better about the clarification of the cloth.  
It would be a little uncomfortable to wear your victims' clothes, unless you're a psychopath.

Lewis then decided to open the door, letting the little boy out first. As he locked the door, the child told him how much he liked wearing his cape, only he hardly ever wore it, since he had only been out a few times in his life.  
—Don't let go of my hand, boy. I don't want you to get lost. —said Lewis to Allen, who quickly obeyed and took his hand.

The sun accompanied their journey, but its warm rays were overshadowed by delicate bursts of cold air.Allen told Lewis everything he did with his parents at home, and how amazed he was when he went out a few times.

After a small talk and a thirty-minute walk, the two had arrived on the main street of the city.The floors were covered with a slab of concrete, with a few lamps in the center of the street, which lit up the way during the night abyss.There were several buildings, most painted in warm colors.   
It was as if the city was waiting for them with open arms.

All along the street there was an open space, people passed by with their variety of colors in their clothes. What caught Allen's attention was a brown coloured horse with a white muzzle. He was standing there and tied up in front of a shop.

People passed by the animal indifferently. It was curious to see how Allen differed from the crowd because of the emotion the horse provoked in him. He immediately released Lewis' hand and ran to the horse.

—Damn it! Come back here, kid! —the boy ran worried and upset after the curious little boy. Suddenly a large crowd obscured his vision, so he had to push his way through, causing some discontent among the citizens.

People were complaining about him.

—Watch out, you idiot! Don't push!  
—Then don't get in the way, you fool! —he replied angrily. After receiving some disapproving looks, Lewis found little Allen, petting the horse along with a man of relatively short stature.

The young man stopped in his tracks to get a better look at the man. Ignoring his pathetic height and light hair, he was wearing a green uniform, the uniform worn by police officers in this city.On top of that, on this officer's head was a cap with a silver star plate, signifying that this particular officer had a rank of importance in the department.

«All right, Lewis, calm down. It's not like you've caused the death of two innocent people and you're assuming a false identity to take care of the son of whom you accidentally murdered...» He took courage and with a firm step, approached his little "cousin".

—There you are... Allen, I told you clearly before we left to not let go of my hand, I don't want you to get lost.  
—Is he your son, sir?   
—What? No! I'm his older cousin... and please don't call me sir, I'm not THAT old.

The officer laughed at Lewis' answer. He seemed to be a nice and tolerant man, but we're talking about a young criminal and a paragon of justice, who were facing each other.

—I'm sorry... But this is the first time I've seen one that's not in a book! And Mr. Jack says her name is Cinnamon!  
—Oh! What manners I have... The officer seemed slightly embarrassed. 

He shook his hand, inviting Lewis to give a heartfelt hand squeeze which he agreed to with some discomfort.

—I'm officer Jack Schmidt. I'm here to serve you. And yes, this is my mare Cinnamon.  
—Lewis... Lovestone. —he replied in an atonic voice.

Allen turned to see his cousin, and remembered that he had let him go into town for the very reason of getting food. He stopped petting Cinnamon and stood next to Lewis, who took him by the hand again.  
—It's been a pleasure, officer. But I'm afraid we have to go now.  
—Of course. See you later.

Suddenly, a man walked up to them in a stunning fashion. He was furious and had a big, colorful stain on his shirt.  
—Officer, I want to report this man! —exclaimed as he pointed his left hand at Lewis.

Lewis was quite scared, he knew that pushing people would bring consequences, but he thought he could possibly run away from them as usual.

—Mr Lovestone? Is there something you want to say? —commented Jack in a stern tone, as his menacing gaze turned to the dead boy.  
—Yes! This man was walking down the street, pushing at whoever was in front of him, as if he owned the street!

The whining man withdrew from Lewis and approached the officer, while he showed the notorious stain on his crimson shirt.  
—Look! He ruined the cake I bought! And my favourite shirt!  
—I'm sorry, sir, it was an accident. I was just looking for my cousin who had separated from me. See?—replied Lewis in his defence and with his free hand pointed to Allen, who only waved at the man with one hand.

—That's no reason! You called me a fool! You didn't even have the decency to apologize.  
Jack looked at the pair of gentlemen with some discomfort, but Lewis acted quickly so that he could leave the uncomfortable scene.

—Well! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! —and began to rummage through his pockets.  
From his trousers he took out a few gold coins, enough money to repair the damage he had caused on the street.

He reached out his hand to hand over the few coins he had.  
—Here, I hope that's enough for your trouble!  
The man with the stain on his shirt snatched the money from the young man's hand.

—Thank you, this was NOT a pleasure! The man turned to look at Jack and with both hands he took the hand of the uniformed man.

—Thank you very much, officer. Your presence moderates the behavior of the wrongdoers... Finally, the man made a dismissive gesture towards Lewis and continued on his way.  
There was an uncomfortable silence between the two young men, the boy and the steed, as they just watched the man walk away.

Suddenly, Jack looked at the boy and his little cousin, decided to break the uncomfortable silence to give them a warning.  
—Mr. Lovestone, I ask you kindly to please live in peace with the citizens. It is fortunate that the man has not made a greater drama, but it will not always be this way.  
—Of course, I'm sorry for the inconvenience... —the young man and the boy withdrew from the officer, lowering their gaze and avoiding eye contact.

After standing a safe distance away, Allen spoke in a choppy, embarrassed voice.  
—I'm sorry, it's my fault that Mr. Jack and that fatty were angry with you.  
—It doesn't matter anymore... —replied bitterly. Lewis then checked the few coins he had left... The waiters at the restaurant would make fun of them if they expected to buy something with that misery.

—That fat slob took most of the money, I think the restaurant will be another day, Allen. Out of the corner of his eye, the young man noticed a flea market on his right.  
Poor people selling for other poor people, the perfect opportunity for their current situation. It was a very long street, one missed the sight before one could see the end of it.

You could see that there were many stalls selling a variety of items, from cleaning supplies, to old furniture, to used clothing, and most importantly, food.  
—Hey, kid, I can still afford something cheap. We could go for a bread and fruit.  
A radiant smile suddenly brought down Allen's grieving face.  
—Really? Great, then let's go!

Allen was totally excited to get in and see the flea market, whereas Lewis was only doing it to get further away from the mansion.  
The concrete road slowly disappeared until it became dry sand. It matched perfectly with the colors of the tents where the vendors had their stalls.

Walking slowly to admire what the market had to offer, they both managed to capture a stall full of apples, both red and green, all of them a bright, striking colour.  
Lewis took out the rest of the coins from his pocket again and pointed out to the little boy to keep up with him.

The boy ran to the apples and took a couple of them, the best he could find. Then he went to his cousin who was standing in front of the stall owner.  
—Would that be all?  
—Yes, I guess...

Suddenly, Lewis noticed that a sign was stuck to the fabric that was intended to be the wall of the stall. However, his eyes could not see what was written on it.  
—Ah, pardon me, but what is that sign about? —asked to the man as he pointed with his finger. The shopkeeper turned behind him where his client was pointing.

—This one? —and began to peel it off to bring it closer to him.

On the sign there was only writing and a few drawings, which were, to tell you the truth, rather ugly. It seemed to be a mocking caricature of a witch, next to a sad ghost.

—Recently people have disappeared from the city, even graves are being looted, according to which all this was done by warlocks. The young lady who is giving a speech over there in the middle gave it to me. —added the shopkeeper.

—She said that we should beware of warlocks, but not of ghosts because they are misunderstood beings or something... I agreed to put her poster in my stand, I pitied her since nobody else was paying attention to her...

Allen was only listening with fear to what the gentleman was telling them while Lewis moved his eyes with confusion to the sides, as if he was trying to connect distant memories in his mind.  
The merchant put the sign back in its place.

—If I were you I'd better be careful going out at night. More like anytime! The police have taken no action on the matter of these witches.  
—Understood. Thank you. See you later.

The boy squeezed his companion's hand a little tighter, as they headed for the centre of the market.  
—Hey, what if we go home? Dad told me that warlocks are very dangerous, that's why he wouldn't let me go out, let's go back...  
—You don't have to worry, kid. Warlocks are like cockroaches, they only come out at night.  
—But the man said they come out at any hour and the police do nothing to stop them!  
—Well, I guess "your friend" the officer Jack will be the exception to that. If a witch tries to cut us open from throat to stomach, he'll help us...

Allen seemed more and more disturbed by the conversation and decided better to be shut.  
One of the few times he managed to leave his mansion again and wanted to return out of fear? He wouldn't allow himself to be ruined by such an experience.

Both continued to walk away from the exit and approach the center of the flea market, both of which had in mind finding the poster girl and asking her about it.  
—Hey Lewis, why do you want to find that girl? I'd like to ask her how to stop those warlocks.  
—It's not that easy to stop a warlock, kid. Though there are a couple of things I'd like to ask her...

After a few minutes, they came across a small crowd that was looking closely at a relatively high wooden stage, on which a girl was standing.  
From afar, you could see that she had curly red hair, barely reaching her shoulders.

Anyone would think that this girl felt the cold easily, for she was wearing a long mustard-colored shirt and a long purple skirt.  
As if that were not enough, a long cherry scarf adorned her neck.

Like a mayoral candidate, the girl spoke very fluently as she hotly waved a sign similar to the one at the stall of the shopkeeper who had recently dispatched them.  
—The ghosts are not the problem, but the warlocks! They try to distract us with ghosts when they are the real threat!

The audience was divided in their opinions by the words coming out of the girl's mouth.  
—Shut up, you crazy! —exclaimed a man from the crowd, and almost instantly another person came to the Protestant's defence.  
—No one told you to speak, baldy! —then began a heated dispute between the spectators that the young girl had.

—No, no! I don't want to turn anyone against anyone, just listen! The city has had more trouble with ghosts and warlocks in recent years! Your lives are in danger and the police don't care!  
Suddenly, one voice was heard above all others.  
—Of course we care about the lives of our citizens, what we don't care about is ghosts or those, the ones who do magic tricks.  
At the side of the stage there was a man, with his arms on the stage floor. He looked like an officer.

He had short black hair, with bangs at his side, and on his head he had his characteristic cap with a small black star, indicating a slightly lower rank than Officer Jack.  
The rowdy young woman began to recoil from the man, as she shouted at him, as if she were a cat defending himself against a predator.  
—If you really cared about the welbeing of your people, you wouldn't stand around all day like stunners on the main street looking for the missing people or the murderers who are stalking the city!

—All right, that's enough! —a familiar voice echoed through the crowd. Slowly, the figure of Officer Jack appeared on the stage.  
Many of those present began to step aside, pretending to have other business. Finally, Lewis and Allen were able to get closer to get a better view of what was going on.

—Look Lewis! It's Mr Jack!  
—Low your voice, kid, he can hear you...  
Jack was on stage, next to the young lady. It seemed that the crowd was witnessing a fight over a ring, the tension between their eyes was in the air.

—Miss Bell, I have tolerated your protests for a long time, but this is the third time this week that you have taken the stage to instill terror in the people.  
—Or does it bother you that I say you're incompetent?

The uniformed man seemed to be trying hard to keep his anger at a minimum.  
—Oh, boy! Did I heard that girl just begged out for arrest? —commented the other officer with a mischievous laugh, as if trying to start a fight.

—Aaron, toss me the handcuffs. —replied Jack in a threatening voice. The young woman could have run away when she heard the police, but she stood there, looking defiantly as if she were accepting her punishment.  
The crowd was watching with tension as Aaron passed the handcuffs to his partner.

If there was one thing Lewis couldn't stand, it was public speaking. He hated feeling judged by all those looks, which seemed to criticize what he said in front of them.

However, the curiosity to know what Bell knew about witches was much greater...  
—Hold it, officers! —exclaimed Lewis, interrupting, seeking to avoid the unfair arrest of Miss Bell. The few people who surrounded the pair of cousins dissipated so that the policemen could look at those who dared to raise their voices.

Aaron and Jack turned around at the same time, focusing their gaze on the dissipated crowd. Jack managed to recognize the young man and his little cousin.  
—Mr Lovestone, I suggest you stay out of this matter!   
Although Lewis had a multitude of eyes watching him, which he abhorred, he decided to continue the conversation.

—As a citizen, I do have the right to give my opinion, don't I? Then that's what I'll do. —said Lewis quickly as the young woman looked at him in admiration, as if it were a rescue.  
 _«I don't want to do this... but if we manage to run away, I'll stop this midget or his partner from wanting to investigate me. Me and the treasure hunters will be fine.»_

Aaron looked at his partner as he tried to hold back a laugh. _«They're challenging your authority, Jack. Stop being so permissive and give them what they deserve.»_ he said in his thoughts.

—The girl is just expressing herself. And I find it curious that right after expressing "negativity" to the police, you want to arrest her. Why didn't you do it the first or second time this week?

Some of those present started whispering to each other, while looking at the officers with disapproval. Jack pressed his lips, seemed to be between a rock and a hard place.  
Still, he ignored the judgmental looks of the audience and approached the Protestant, almost about to put the handcuffs on her.

—This is the last time I will tell you, Mr. Lovestone: This is none of your business!  
Lewis was running out of ideas, he needed to get information out of that young lady. He turned to see Allen and quietly spoke to him.

—Kid, get ready, we're going to run very fast.  
—What?! —asked the little boy, very surprised.  
—Oh, trust me, I don't want to do this either...  
Lewis took a big breath, waved his arms and with everything his lungs could muster he shouted at the girl.

—Jump, we must run! Follow us!  
It seemed that the protestant was waiting for a sign, and that sign had come to her.

With all her strength, she pushed Jack down from the stage and jumped to the side of the young man who had avoided her arrest.

The little boy, the girl, and the young man ran with all the strength their legs would allow.  
Suddenly, Allen began to tire and slow down a bit.  
—W-Wait! —he shouted with a gasp, trying to breathe normally again. He stumbled and fell with his face to the ground, attracting the attention of the fleeing pair.

Lewis then ran quickly to him and seeing that he had stumbled, he chose to carry him.  
—My parents are going to be very mad at us! —he shouted again, Allen, now very frightened.

Unlike before, the people here kept their distance and running across the street was a simple matter of just not tripping.

As Jack tried to get back on his feet, Aaron kept mocking him and so as a few other people in the audience too.  
—You would have been spared such humiliation if you weren't so tolerant!

With difficulty and some pain in moving, Jack quickly left the stage, even more upset than before.  
—Shut up, we must go after them!  
The pair of officers ran after the people who had made a fool of them, even though they were somewhat ahead of them.

«I'm a dead man... doubly dead!» Lewis kept repeating those words in his head. Now he had all sorts of problems on his mind.  
—Lewis? What are you doing here? —just hearing the familiar voice, the young man stopped short, as did the girl he saved.

It was Luna, who was just at the market helping another of his fellow treasure-hunters, Hazel, set up a bread stand.  
—Luna? Hazel? What are you doing here?! —he asked restlessly.  
—Well, unlike you and me, our companions do have homes and decent jobs. I just wanted to help Hazel forget about what happened this morning...

Luna then turned to look more closely at his dead partner and the company he was bringing to his side.  
—And why are you running around with a tramp and a kid?

Suddenly Luna began to connect her memories of this morning with what her eyes were looking at right now.  
—Oh... Don't tell me that the child is--  
—Yes, shush! It's my cousin... —he suddenly interrupted his sister.

Young Bell turned behind her and watched as the officers came closer and closer.  
—Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt but we have to run now!  
—Dammit! Guys, I need your help! Please distract the officers!

Hazel looked in the direction her partner came from and noticed the cops coming this way.  
—Did they get you? —he asked.  
—Or did you do something else? —he added, pointing to the girl next to him.

—Yes, it was something else, I need you to distract them! I think I may have more information on relics and warlocks! —Hazel and Luna turned to look surprised.

Luna jumped to the other side of the stall and pushed Lewis, the boy who was carrying him and the stranger towards the exit of the travelling market.  
—Go now, we'll help you! —and obedient, the young people who had provoked the police managed to get out of the market.

Luna took a few loaves of bread from his friend's stall and ran in a direction close to the officers to get their attention. Hazel immediately sensed what her partner was trying to do and played along.  
—Thief! Police, stop her!

The uniforms turned to the side Luna was running and stopped, deciding whether to go after the Protestant and the cousins or to catch a real threat, a thief.  
Jack glared at the end of the empty street. 

Still with shattered pride, he indicated to his companion that the bread thief would be caught.  
—Nonsense, we lost track of them. Let's go get that thief.  
Aaron nodded affirmatively and they went after the girl who had run past him, distracting his main target.

When they were far enough away from anyone who could arrest them, Lewis, Allen and Miss Bell hid within some walls to give them a break.   
—Geez... I'm so grateful to you! If it wasn't for you, I'd be spending the weekend behind bars again.

The young man finally got Allen back on his feet, and he noted his displeasure as soon as his feet touched the ground.  
—Lewis, are you nuts?! My parents are going to be so angry if they find out!  
—Oh, look at you! You're so adorable! —the protestant girl looked tenderly at the little boy who was so worried. She bent down slightly and stroked his head.  
  
—You have nothing to worry about, darling. I won't say anything to anyone, and I'll make sure the officers don't either... —said young Bell, sounding a bit more threatening with those last words.  
Lewis then decided to talk to the Protestant, which was why he had avoided her unjust arrest.  
—Miss Bell, I would like to ask you something about your speech and about the posters you have been handing out.  
—Miss? Well, well... Jack and his formalities! —she replied with a smile. Then she was back to her normal height.

—I'm Annie Bell. You can just call me Annie.  
Excited, Annie pointed her arms at the pair of cousins.   
—And what are my rescuers' names?   
—I'm Lewis... Uh, Lovestone.

Annie looked at the young man strangely, did he just forgot his own name?  
—And I'm Allen! Lewis is my cousin who likes to get into trouble with Mr. Jack... —said Allen as he looked back at his cousin with disappointment.  
Annie laughed at the kid's answer.

—I understand, sometimes I enjoy bothering him too.  
Lewis then interrupted the mood of the scene to return to the subject he had been looking for from the beginning.  
—Annie, I really need to ask you something.  
—Oh, sorry! I often get distracted by talk... —she replied with great embarrassment.  
—It seems you know something about the warlocks in this town... I need to know what you know. —Annie then sighed and changed her tone of voice to one much more serious than she had just now.

—For several months now, multiple citizens have disappeared... Oddly enough, when these people disappeared, ghosts and other unusual things began to appear. I haven't seen such activity for years.  
—Like what things? —Asked Allen.  
—A lot of people don't believe it, but there are some objects made by warlocks that only serve to bring misfortune or to alter life as we know it.

Lewis looked rather surprised, but said nothing. He thought that the only people who knew of the existence of these relics were the group of gold diggers.

—How are these life-altering? —asked Allen curiously.  
Annie proceeded.  
—You see, there are some that prolong life for very long periods, some that bring misfortune to the people around, and one specifically that... Oh... —slowly gulped down, while sweating cold.

She seemed to be a little nervous and diverted the main subject to avoid giving any more information about the relics.  
An then, Annie divert the main subject to avoid giving any more information about the relics.  
—Umm... I'm really surprised that anyone else is interested in this subject, people rarely seek to help. Usually they just do it to make fun.

Annie turned her gaze away from Lewis, who noted her peculiar behaviour with suspicion.  
—Well, warlocks are the biggest criminals in the city. If the police don't arrest them, who will?—exclaimed Allen, breaking the uncomfortable silence of the moment.

Annie put aside her nervousness to return to her energetic cheerfulness of late.  
—Exactly! —she replied and immediately changed her expression. Suddenly she turned her gaze to Lewis.  
—I think we should meet again, another day, to talk about this more quietly. It's just that... right now my grandfather is waiting for me at home and I don't want to leave him alone for long.  
—Is tomorrow okay? —Lewis asked.  
—Sure! We could meet here tomorrow, at this very hour —replied the young woman cheerfully.

Allen intervened in the young people's plans.  
—Lewis, my parents won't like me going out so often!  
—Quiet, I'll convince them later...—Lewis replied almost immediately.  
—Well, then... —Suddenly Annie pulled a small piece of paper out of her right sleeve and gave it to Lewis.

The paper seemed to be a business card, it had the address of the house where the girl lived written on it:

_Spirits haunting your home?_

_I can help!_

_1444, XXXXX street in Nethertown_ _Ask for Annie Bell!_ _  
_

—You can look for me at this address, I'll be glad to receive you!  
The young man carefully put the card in his pockets.  
Then the group bid each other farewell, walking to their destination. Annie walked away from that alleyway, as she glanced sideways at the pair of cousins. Allen would hold Lewis's hand again as they walked down the street.

It had been a few minutes after noon, and the cold that had prevailed until a few hours ago had slowly disappeared into a warm atmosphere.

—How will you convince my parents to let me go out with you? Again... -Allen asked, seeming to keep blaming the bad times he had had with Lewis.

Lewis pressed his lips. His dead heart died a little more each time the boy mentioned his parents.  
—I--first of all, everything that happened today will be a secret. If they ask, we were at the restaurant all morning, okay?  
—I don't like to lie but I like to go out. So that seems fair! -said Allen in response.  
—Tomorrow we'll go out somewhere else. For now, we have to go home, I've already attracted a lot of attention. —said Lewis, visibly worried and uncomfortable in his tone of voice.

The events against the officers forced him to take refuge in the mansion, which was in fact a prison for both Allen and himself.  
The boy showed no opposition, simply nodded his head and the two took the road home, careful not to run into Jack or Aaron again.

After the long walk, they managed to leave town. They were back at the mansion. Lewis turned the old doorknob, thus opening the huge door.  
  
As they entered the mansion, they both hung their coats on the coat rack in the hall.  
Allen ran quickly up the stairs while Lewis re-secured the door. With his foot on the fifth step, Allen spoke with some encouragement to the young man.  
—We can have fun in another way. I'll get a board game for both of us to play, just wait here!

And he disappeared between the wooden steps leading up to the second floor.  
Lewis stood by the coat rack, making sure the little guy got up carefully... or maybe just getting up was enough for him.

When he made sure that Allen didn't have his eyes on him, he ran into the room where he forced the window when he first broke into the mansion.

_"I think they were around here... "_ he said to himself as he looked for that cabinet full of unread letters from his alleged mother, Elise Lovestone.

—Aha! —exclaimed as he opened a drawer full of correspondence. Without a second thought he took one of these to find out the address of the sender.  
Was taking care of Allen really a problem? For someone who had followed orders all his life, sure it was.

The woman seemed to live a little far away... XXXX Street from XXXX, Umbertown. A town a few days from here.

_"Umbertown"? Right, he never took me to see that city..."_ For a few moments he was nostalgic, immersed in his memories and ignored the rest around him.

—Lewis? What are you watching? —asked Allen.

Instantly the young man had come to and from the surprise he jumped up and down, hitting his leg on the furniture. Skilfully he managed to hide Elise's letter back in the drawer and turned quickly behind him, where the boy was.

—Me? Uh... No, I'm not looking at anything... —answered anxiously. —Did you manage to find that board game? —continued to try to change the subject as naturally as possible.  
—Yes! Come, sit on the floor —Allen lay face down and dropped a rather dusty box.   
You could read that it was called "Business and Houses". 

It was one of those stupid games which seemed to be endless, as endless as the days which would be spent imprisoned in that mansion.  
The two of them spent hours killing boredom with long sessions of board games, unreassuring readings of dead writers and small talks and anecdotes that were told.

Occasionally, they would go into the kitchen to prepare a lunch.  
They were now sitting in the dining room, with a game of cards on the table and some snacks that Allen had prepared.

Slowly the night was bathing the sky over the distant mansion, the stars were very clear and bright, but the pair of cousins did not witness their glow, they were concentrating on a trivial conversation, like all the ones they had had throughout the day.

—My favourite colour? Well, I suppose it's purple. I think it's an elegant colour... —said the treasure hunter.  
—Purple? Well, I don't have a favourite colour, I like them all. I'd very much like to have clothes as colourful as theatre actors! —exclaimed the little boy, who immediately let out a big yawn, so loud that he had even brought tears to his eyes.  
—You'd better go to sleep, or you won't be able to stand the day after tomorrow —said Lewis, when he saw Allen yawning.  
—Aye, aye, got it... -he replied as he rubbed his eyes.  
—Oh, let me show you where you're going to sleep first. Come, follow me!  
Quickly the boy got up from his chair and went up the stairs. Lewis sighed a little worried, but then he got up and went after him.

The upper floor was the same as the other rooms in the house, the walls dressed in the same dusty tapestry, somewhat worn furniture and a floor covered with a long blue carpet, the wooden tiles squeaking from time to time as they were stepped on.

Along this great corridor, there were about three doors at the back.  
—My parents sleep there, and I sleep here. —said Allen as he pointed at the doors with one finger. The little boy squatted and lifted one end of the blue rug to take out a key that was hidden.

He walked to the third door and inserted the key he had taken from the floor.  
—And here you will sleep! -he added as he slowly opened the door.

The first impression of the interior of the room was... dusty.  
It seemed as if Allen's parents had tried to erase the existence of the room by closing it indefinitely.

They both went into the dusty bedroom. The young man looked repulsively at the sheets, which were once white but were now covered with a grey layer of dirt.

There was a bedside table whose drawers held nothing but dust and moths. The purple curtains with a small window to the outside were all sandy and lint with dirt.

_"Why is this room so closed and sloppy?"_ Lewis thought as he chased away the moths that had attached themselves to his chest.  
—I know it's a bit dirty, but we never felt the need to clean this room. We haven't had any more visitors, not for many years... —said the little one with some embarrassment.

_"Well, now I see the answer..."_ said the corpse to himself.

—My aunt Elise lived with us for a while many years ago and she used to sleep here. Funny that now her son does the same. —he added.  
—Seriously? —asked Lewis with a slight surprise.  
—Yes! Didn't she ever told you? Because I don't remember you being around her when she was living here... —asked Allen, it seemed he was finally getting suspicious...  
—My... mother, took me out of an orphanage years later. Yes, I'm like an embarrassment to her —said Lewis in reply.

Slowly he walked to the bed in the room and began to pull the sheets off.  
—I'll clean the room tomorrow. I'll just shake the bed for a while —commented with displeasure as he tossed the sheets.  
—Okay, I'll help you tomorrow. Good night Lewis, get some rest! —the little one said good night to go to sleep, leaving the door ajar on his way out.

_"I feel tired, but I feel I can't sleep anymore. The corpses have an eternal sleep, but the ghosts stay awake for a long time... and I had to be the mixture of both..."_ Lewis thought.

—In that case, I think I'll be able to quietly clean up this mess... —he muttered in solitude as he put the already shaken sheets back in place.

He went around the dirty curtains and wiped with the palm of his hand the part of the window which was also dusty. The moonlight pierced and illuminated part of the room. Then he lay down on the bed, looking up at the cobwebbed ceiling.

He closed his eyes, and the image of Leonora dead on the floor, as well as that of Edward with his bleeding forehead, tormented his mind for a long time

_"Of all my life, this is the second biggest mistake I've ever made... I'm sorry, Allen..."_


	3. Missing ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disappearances in Nethertown are growing and so does the mystery.  
> It seems that not even dead ones are safe in this town...

Slowly the sun appeared, indicating the arrival of a new day. The deep blue of the sky quietly dissipated until it became a tenuous orange.There was Jack, sitting in his office with hundreds of files on his desk. The cup of coffee he had brought to keep himself awake was slowly getting cold, but the officer was not paying any attention to it.  
  
A day had passed and the pain in his shoulders persisted. It was not clear to him whether this was due to the heavy fall caused by Miss Bell, or whether it was due to the stress of responsibility for maintaining the peace of Nethertown.He scowled at the papers on his desk, many of which were about people who had recently disappeared. Jack was one of those sceptics who believed that witchcraft was a thing of the past, foolish even, so he ignored all of Miss Bell's talk.

—Are you burning the midnight oil since early? —commented Aaron from the door. Jack only looked at him sideways, then continued to stare at the files of the lost persons.With that gaze, Aaron understood that his friend was not in the mood, it would be better to leave him alone. He was about to leave until his partner spoke to him.  
  
—It's been months since we've found these people... Miss Bell is right, we are incompetent... —Jack exclaimed with disappointment in his voice.—Oh come on... many of these missing people were homeless, without family. We only know a few things besides their names. We do what we can.—said Aaron in response, seeking to comfort or perhaps justify his partner.—The fact that they were homeless does not make their lives any less important! —shouted the enraged officer.—When did I say that? I only said that it was difficult to find them with so few information... —replied Aaron calmly.  
  
Jack looked down in shame, he was quite tired as he had stayed up since the night looking for more data on the missing. Aaron walked slowly towards him and took with his hands the cold cup of coffee.—Give yourself the day off for today, why don't you go out and have some fun? Just don't hit Mr. Sunstone's face... or whatever his name is, if you find him around.—Day off? -Why would I-- —Before he even finished the question, Aaron had already resolved his doubt.—I told the boss what happened yesterday and she said you should rest today... I can take care of these papers of yours. —added as he arranged the files on Jack's desk.  
  
—Come on, man. I've seen you so stressed out lately, on top of the hard fall you had yesterday... Get rid of that embarrassment and rest, that's all. Don't get used to it, tomorrow will be a normal work day. —ended with a chuckle.

Jack could be described as an obsessive worker, however, he was really tired and up to his neck in stress. He decided to obey his mate and with sorrow got up from his desk.With his eyes downcast, he left his uniform hanging on the hangers on the wall. Step by step, he approached the door, and as he opened it, his pal spoke to him.  
  
—What about my kiss goodbye? -he asked laughingly in a mischievous voice.—Ugh, just stop it... —and he walked out the door to enjoy his day off.

The sun was rising, as Allen woke up from his bed to start a new day.  
With enthusiasm he went quickly to the guest room to wake up Lewis too, but he was surprised to find that the room was clean, so clean that not even Lewis was in it....  
 _"Is he gone? Where did he go?"_

The little boy walked down the stairs, while a tapping sound of cutlery and dishes grew louder.He walked to the dining room, where he spotted a plate served with freshly prepared oatmeal.Lewis walked out of the kitchen, until he noticed Allen almost instantly.  
  
—You're such a sleepyhead, aren't you? _"So much so that not even a gunshot can lift you..."  
  
_ —Don't you know how to say "good morning"? —commented Allen with some dissatisfaction.  
—I see, you're in a good mood today... —Lewis replied with sarcasm.  
—I was about to go and wake you up, I made breakfast from what I found in the house. Before you get angry with me, eat something at least. —added as he invited the boy to sit on the chair.

Allen rubbed his eyes to remove the crusting in his eyes and sat down on the dining room chair.He took the first spoonful of oatmeal to his mouth. He stayed a few moments to savour his breakfast...  
—It's a bit tasteless.   
—I made it with a lot of love! Besides, too much sugar will make you sick, kid. —Lewis replied offended.  
—You're not going to eat? —asked Allen as he went to get the second spoonful.  
—I had some oatmeal for breakfast earlier, don't worry.  
—Are we going to see that crazy girl from yesterday? —asked Allen with his mouth full.  
—Sure, yes, but first eat your oatmeal. —replied Lewis as he wiped his hands with a cloth.

Lewis had all night to clean the guest room, as well as to look closely at Elise Lovestone's letters.

It was obvious, this woman is the sister of the late Edward. And although their relationship was apparently not very good, her nephew, Allen, remembered her fondly.

Easily, Elise would now take care of the child in the absence of his parents. But how to cover up the stark truth? Although Lewis had written many letters in the night, in none of them did he lie perfectly, perhaps he had to live with the child for a while longer in what he thought was a better way to contact Mrs. Lovestone...

The young man stayed in the kitchen, thinking of all the problems he had sought, from which, now he could not escape any.

One of the things that worried him when he was in the kitchen was the food. He no longer felt hungry and if he ate, everything would be rotting inside him. The concern was not for him, but for Allen.

For a few moments, the boy was his priority. He had to get food for him now that his parents were dead... But how? Maybe he had to borrow from someone he knew?  
—I'm done! Can we go out now? —spoke the boy in the distance. The little boy's voice brought Lewis back to himself.  
—Go upstairs and change your clothes first! —he shouted from the kitchen.

And dutifully, Allen removed his plate and immediately went up the stairs.  
It didn't take long before Allen was ready with his usual tie and braces. He was so impatient to get out that he was even rushing Lewis in front of the door.  
—You are taking too long and I am waiting!  
—I'm coming, don't tease... —said Lewis as he put on his brown mackintosh.  
—Dress warmly, kid, or else I'll take you to a doctor...

Finally both of them were able to leave the house to continue with the day they had planned. The wind was slightly damp, a light rain was coming. The sky had big grey clouds, and the sunbeams that were there until a few minutes ago, were now absent.

After the usual route, they had returned to the main street of the city. There were only a few people, many of them carrying an umbrella, prepared for the possible rain that would come.  
Looking between addresses and avenue names, they tried to locate Annie's house.

 _«Just don't run into any officers, I hope that dwa_ _rf doesn't remember my_ _face...»_ The young man looked at the card the girl gave him, while looking for the name of the right street.

Little by little, the address led them to one of the most miserable parts of the city...  
It was a slum, people seemed a little strange, staring at the pair of cousins walking through the streets, as if they were about to attack them any time they got unguarded.

Lewis kept his eyes open, while Allen walked around in total tranquillity, looking curiously at the people passing by, following their path.  
Finally, the two of them came across an old house, which looked rather humble and half painted. Did anyone even live here?

They were unsure whether the house was the same as the one on the card, but the young man looked at the paper once more...

  
—I'ts here indeed... —said the young man with some uncertainty, caused by not being sure what would happen next, yet his determination was greater than his fear... anyway, what would he be afraid of? Dying?  
—Are you sure? It seems that no one lives here! —exclaimed Allen with a certain distaste in his tone of voice.

Even if it was early in the morning, the atmosphere outside the house inspired the same terror as being in the middle of a cemetery at night...

Lewis handled this feeling well, contrary to Allen, who gradually invaded his body with fear.The little boy clung tightly to his cousin's hand, closed his eyes and covered his gaze against the sleeve of the brown trench coat, somehow avoiding the sensation.

The young man knocked a couple of times and the huge wooden door echoed.  
—I'm coming! Hold on! —Annie's voice was heard from inside. It took a brief moment until the protestant from yesterday opened the door for them.

Lewis was barely going to say a word, when the girl stole his word.  
—Oh, how nice to see you! Come in, come in! —she said as she opened the door wide.  
Inside the house, there was only darkness. It seemed that something wasn't right...

Slowly but surely, the boys entered the house, barely feeling the squeaky floor with their feet. Suddenly, the lights came on, Annie had turned on a wall switch.

The long hallway in the hall lit up, revealing many stuffed animals lying on the floor, as well as pieces of cloth and spools of thread.  
Lewis looked calm but alert. Allen, however, still had his face in the gabardine, avoiding eye contact.  
—Come on Allen, don't be afraid. It's all right. —commented the girl, encouraging the little boy to raise his gaze.

Slowly Allen pulled his face away from Lewis' mackintosh to get a look inside.  
Despite looking neglected on the outside, the house was homey and beautiful on the inside. It was a bit messy with the mimes and clowns that were on some of the furniture.  
—Oh boy, I'm sorry about the mess... Besides helping ghosts and shouting in the street, I also make and sell rag dolls. —added Annie, feeling a little sorry for her mess.

A doll that peeked out of another room was walking towards them very naturally. It was a clown's teddy bear, with green and purple patterns on its clothes and a big nose as red as the flowing hair it had.  
  
Allen felt a little more cheerful as he saw the stuffed clown slowly approaching.  
—Wow! Is that a mechanical doll? —Allen asked in amazement.  
—Who are you calling a doll? You disrespectful boy! —exclaimed "the doll" in reply.

The pair of cousins were stunned to hear that stuffed clown speak.  
—Grandpa, I told you to wait until I had told them the whole situation! —shouted Annie very nervously.

Lewis quickly understood what this meant.  
—Your grandfather is dead?  
—Yes! I mean, no! He's my grandfather's soul in a stuffed toy.  
—How is that possible?! —asked Allen in terror.  
—Annie, you said you brought a visitor, not a pathetic skeleton and his disrespectful pet monkey! —said Grandfather's cuddly toy, quite offended.

The tension in the place escalated quickly.  
—Your soul is trapped in a ridiculous cuddly toy, I'd say the pathetic one is you. —Lewis replied, feeling offended.

The clowntoy showed an angry expression on his face.  
—Enough, get out of here! —and he ran towards Lewis trying to climb up his leg, as he tried to get it off him.  
—That's enough, Grandpa, calm down! —Annie pulled the teddy bear off the young man's leg.  
—I don't understand! Is that puppet really your grandfather? —Why?! Is he a warlock?! —commented Allen, as his body glued to the wall in fear.

With her grandfather in her arms like a baby, Annie went straight to the point with the explanation she wanted to give calmly from the beginning.  
—No, my grandfather is not a Warlock! He was an indirect victim of them...  
—I'm a ghost, you little brat. Watch out, because at night I'm going to throw you off your feet, ha! —commented Annie's grandfather mischievously, trying to scare the child even more.

Allen just screamed and ran quickly to Lewis as he clung to him with all his strength. Lewis bent down at his height and tried to calm him down.  
—Listen, kid. That "ghost" won't hurt you, he's not an evil one, he's not a warlock either... he's just a dead old man who wants to make fun of you. —commented the young man calmly.

Slowly, Allen regained his composure and relaxed his breathing.  
When finally the atmosphere returned to normal, Annie invited her visitor to sit on the sofa she had, while she placed a few biscuits and a tea she had ready for his arrival on a table.

Allen left with a voracious appetite on the biscuits, nor did he seem to be terrified until just a few minutes ago.  
Annie needed to see their faces, so she was sitting in a rocking chair in front of his visit.  
—Remember I told you yesterday about some life—altering objects? Well, many years ago my dad had one of these objects to use in case of an emergency.

Lewis took a slight sip from his tea cup, while listening to the young woman, there was also the Grandpa, sitting on the table where the tea and biscuits were.

Suddenly, Grandpa stole one of the biscuits from Allen's hand and brought it to his wool mouth as it broke into crumbs. He couldn't taste it, but just teasing the little boy gave him some satisfaction.  
—That object had the function of trapping the ghost of a newly deceased where you release it, in short, bring back a dead person. —The girl took a slight sip from her cup and continued with her talk.

—We had it in case something happened to my grandfather, my uncle or me. Unfortunately, it was my grandfather's turn, Stephen... It was the only rare object I used. —she added with a certain air of disappointment.

Surprised by the answer, Lewis questioned the girl.  
—How long did you use it?  
—I don't know, a couple of years ago maybe? —replied Annie, while Stephen, her grandfather, looked at Lewis with suspicion.  
—Hey I have an aunt and a dad too! Where are yours? —asked Allen curiously.  
—We're not here to reveal our private lives, you little brat! Do you see them here? Then don't ask! —replied Stephen, now he seemed more upset than before.  
—I'm sorry... I just wish my dad had more friends... —replied Allen as he slumped embarrassingly over the sofa.  
—Grandpa, it's all right, don't worry... —said Annie, looking to calm the situation, however she was a bit distressed.  
—They went out looking for something a few years ago. I haven't heard from them since... —Annie seemed to hold back her tears a little, but continued.  
—I used that object myself when my grandfather passed away, I didn't want to be left alone. But, considering what's happening now, I think that artifact belonged to the warlocks.  
—What about the artefact? Where is it now? —Lewis asked.  
—It broke after that, it only had a small pearl on it which I put inside my grandfather's plush toy. —replied Annie as she looked at Stephen.

Lewis empathized with her situation and quickly remembered Marcus. He wasn't only the leader of the hunters, but he was also his adoptive father for about six years, as well as being Luna's adoptive father.

Although the treasure hunters always sought to destroy the cursed relics to avoid possible catastrophes, Marcus had kept a cursed relic apart: the prisoner's lamp, for the same reason as Annie's family. Perhaps Marcus wanted to live with his children forever... Is it so difficult to give up a loved one to death?

Maybe it was selfish to deny eternal rest to someone important, someone who suddenly dies in a way that is unfair in the eyes of their loved ones.

—Anyone who had the opportunity to bring a loved one back from the dead would do so without hesitation. You should not feel bad about that.  
Annie looked at him with relief.  
—I know, and for that, I will make up for my use of that object in unmasking the warlocks. —and she stretched out her arm to grab a biscuit from the table.

—Ghosts are just misunderstood beings, without a pearl to purify their soul, they can be violent and dangerous. Of the latter, they are the kind of ghosts that have been appearing in the city. —added with his mouth full.

Suddenly, the girl put her hand into her shirt, and then, she took out a necklace of an almost crystalline quartz, with some white impurities.

—But, ghosts who don't have a pearl can rest eternally with this.  
—With stones? —asked Allen.  
—No, this is a quartz, it purifies the resentment of the spirits so that they can rest in peace.

Annie put the necklace back under her jersey, and glanced at the boys with determined eyes.  
—I will not rest until those ghosts leave in peace, and so, see what the warlocks are really planning by disappearing people!

The girl took a few posters from a piece of furniture she had in the same room and headed off on her visit.  
—That's why everyone in the town must know about this, let's make them hear us again!

Immediately, Lewis left his cup of tea on the table and went to persuade Annie, who was almost ready to open the door.  
—Hey, wait! Precisely I had to talk about this! —he said running after the young lady. She stopped tightly and turned to look at Lewis.  
—What? What's the matter?  
—You shouldn't keep talking about warlocks...  
—And why? —she asked, confused, even offended at some point.  
—Don't you understand? There may be a one of them among the citizens, and if you keep yelling, trying to convince the city that they are evil, they will look after you and try to kill you.

Annie gave a slight sarcastic laugh between her teeth.  
—Heh, well then my death would mean something. —and suddenly, she changed her tone of voice to a deeper one, as if she were imitating someone from her audience of yesterday.  
—Where is the crazy protestant? Oh, I'm sure she was right! The warlocks killed her! Let's find those guys! —and because of her silly imitation voice, accidentally dropped all her posters.

She quickly bent down to pick them up off the ground while grumbling.  
Lewis only held his hand to his face while he was visibly upset.  
—Ugh, you really are an idiot... Well, go ahead, maybe that's what they want. —he said as he walked back to the guest room with Allen.

Annie only looked up to see him walking.  
—What do you mean?  
—Maybe they want that attention, if you're so sure that those strange objects are from the warlocks, do you know how many there are? Or what other ways they alter life? And what do you think will happen when they find out how you brought your grandfather back from the dead? Well, if it's not the warlocks who are looking for you to get their device back, it will be the merchant who lost his fiance, or the waitress who lost her daughter. And in this city full of savages, I doubt they'll want to negotiate peacefully.

Allen and Stephen listened to everything from the couch, they seemed to be intrigued as well.  
—I have no doubt that this ghostly activity and the people who have disappeared is because of the warlocks, but I also have no doubt that you don't think about the consequences of your actions.

Annie only looked at him in a thoughtful and upsetting way, he was right: She never stopped to think in broad strokes about what her protests might cause, beyond being imprisoned for a couple of days.

There were a few who believed in ghosts, she just wanted to be heard. Having her grandpa as a ghost, it was easier to empathize and understand the pain of those dead people who were blinded by the hate of having their lives taken away, she just wanted to help them.

She wanted everyone to have that same vision, to take away their fear of the wrong enemy.  
—And I have no doubt that you are hiding something! Why are you so interested in weird gizmos? —Stephen started to get off the couch and walk defiantly towards Lewis.

—Don't think I didn't notice you... you're hiding something from us. —He continued. —You may be right that my little girl doesn't think much of the consequences, but why so much interest in rare artefacts? Are you a warlock? Do you want your defective junk back? —he added as he glanced at the young man.

Lewis was cornered now, he couldn't reveal that he was a treasure hunter yet, what if Annie said so too? It would be more chaos than he was trying to avoid in the first place.  
—My cousin is not a warlock, warlocks are bad, but Lewis is not, he even made me oatmeal! —said Allen, leaning out of his chair, looking to defend Lewis. Everyone looked at him with a certain look between confusion and uncertainty.  
—Oh, I see, that was out of line... —and embarrassed, he hid in the couch, embarrassed to have his eyes on it.

—No, I'm not a wizard... I'm just looking at the big consequences. —and when he finished saying this, Lewis bent down to finish putting up Annie's posters.  
—Annie, I know you mean well, but this is not the right way... Stop calling the attention of the witches, there are lives at stake, not only yours and your grandfather's. —the young man handed the posters to the girl, and stood up.

When they were both standing, Lewis continued to speak.  
—I think everyone here was affected by the warlocks in some way. And I think we are all with the same goal, right?

Stephen only looked at it in disbelief, though slightly convinced.  
—We'll get to the bottom of this, the ghosts, the warlocks, the disappearances... but for now we don't know how to really stop them, we can't risk our lives for an uncertain future. —added Lewis.  
—Okay, it's just... not even the police are trying to find the missing persons, so I feel obliged to find out the truth on my own. —said Annie with her posters in her arms.  
—We'll do a better job than those useless cops —replied Lewis as he put on his trench coat.  
—Are you leaving now? Will we still see each other?  
—I think it's obvious, that is, I must avoid you screwing up and announcing it to everyone... if it's about these issues, you can trust me. —replied Lewis, and almost immediately Annie replied:  
—Yes, me too.

Stephen only looked at his granddaughter, he was a little upset and surprised at the same time.  
—We must go, we have some pending issues... Allen, let's go. —and like a rabbit, Allen jumped off the couch and ran to the door.

Finally, the pair of cousins were outside the house. Allen turned the girl and her grandfather over again.  
—See you, thanks for the biscuits! —he commented warmly.  
—And thank you for your time... —Lewis added almost tonelessly.  
—See you! —said Annie as she closed her door.

Finally, Stephen and Annie were alone.—I don't like that guy!—I think he's trustworthy, Grandpa. Although I hate to admit it, he made me think beyond the consequences, and besides he was the one who saved me from the officers yesterday... —said Annie in the boy's defence, it seemed that even the latter said it with some affection, looking away a little.

—Oooh no! I recognize those eyes! Remove that silly expression, Annie Bell! —shouted Stephen as he climbed onto one of the pieces of furniture to get a better height for his granddaughter.—Eyes? What are you talking about? —asked the slightly nervous girl.—Eighteen years I've known you, Annie... Are you serious? You only met him yesterday!  
  


The young lady just passed by without seeing the cuddly toy.  
—I don't know what you're talking about... —she said walking down the corridor, ignoring Stephen.

Stephen just nodded in disapproval, jumped off the furniture and once on the floor, began to gather the scraps of cloth to put them in their place.—You're as evasive and messy as your mother used to be... —commented the toy from the floor.

Slowly the large rain clouds that were darkening the streets of Nethertown began to drizzle lightly. People began to prepare their umbrellas. The bad weather was as common as the crimes.Some street vendors quickly removed their stalls to avoid being drenched by the rain. However, several shops remained open, receiving and serving people.  
  
In one of these places was Officer Jack, it was a cafe called "Joy Crumbs Dinner", known for their delicious cakes and milkshakes.  
The uniformed man was sitting, looking at the sky from the window, while with a fork he took bites from a slice of apple pie he ordered.

He should be relaxed because he had the day off, but his mind was overwhelmed with so many disappearances. Many were homeless or people without family...It was all they had in common... Logically, whoever was behind this didn't want to have the missing person's acquaintances reporting their case, pressuring the officers to find them.  
The only ones who reported the people were the same citizens who were passing through the streets and when they noticed the absence, they said to themselves _"What about the tramp who was sleeping in this street?"_.  
  
Jack was a sceptic, he kept denying the existence of these ghosts, even of warlocks.Since a few months ago, there have been multiple cries for help to the police in certain streets due to "problems with ghosts". Many of these calls ended up in simple jokes or even in ambushes to assault the police themselves.  
  
And due to these bad experiences, anything that had to do with "ghosts" was automatically discarded by any uniformed person in the city.  
« _How do you kill a ghost anyway? I don't think bullets will hurt them, what were we thinking..._ »Jack replied to himself.  
  
—Would you like some more coffee? —the voice of one of the waitresses made her presence felt, breaking the officer's daydream.  
—Ah, yes, please... —replied Jack as he rubbed his forehead and eyes with the fingers of his hand.

The waitress began to pour some coffee into the officer's cup, until he asked a question.  
—Do you know what happened to the homeless man who was on these streets?  
—Eh? Not really, he just stopped showing up here. I remember that occasionally I gave him a piece of bread on the sly. And sometimes he would talk about ghosts, almost like the girl in the market.  
  
Jack just pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. He expected a more useful answer than that.  
 _«So one of the missing people was a wacko too...»  
  
_ —He wasn't a bad person, he just smelled a little bit weird. I wonder what happened to him... —she added as she left the table.It seemed as if, no matter what, the "warlocks" always came out when the subject of the disappeared was brought up. Maybe it was time to start taking that subject seriously?  
  
...Maybe not, not for someone as cold headed and closed minded as Officer Schmidt was.  
 _«Simple paranoid coincidences.»_  
He took a sip from his coffee cup and ended up with the apple pie.

After a while, he finished his meal and left the café. There was his mare Canela, waiting for him tied up outside the establishment. Jack went over to his steed and stroked her head and ears.  
—Hello there, good girl. Let's go home, shall we? —he said in a somewhat silly tone of voice.  
From a small compartment in Cinnamon's packing, Jack took out a horse mackintosh which he placed gently on the animal.He prepared the seat well and climbed on his steed.

Cinnamon was galloping along calmly as Jack led the way, careful not to bump into any civilians.  
—Hooded and with a big bag, I tell ya! —echoed a citizen's voice.  
—At the cemetery? Stealing bodies? —Another voice was heard, it seemed to be another man accompanying the other citizen's conversation.  
Jack simply raised his ear, he didn't want to look like a meddler, but the conversation caught his attention completely. He instructed Cinnamon to slow down and listen calmly to the conversation.  
  
There were two men, one of whom was finishing a snack. They were both leaning against a wall.  
—I was very afraid to go near them, and when morning came, I saw that some graves were open, without the bodies. I don't care if they fire me! Being a night guard is difficult...  
—I don't blame you, pal... But this is all strange. First the slackers disappear from the city, and now even the dead disappear... At this rate we're next! —replied the man with concern.  
—I think I should go and live at Bleakmore... —said the night guard.  
—Bleakmore? Are you crazy? That city is even more hopeless. —added the man as he took one last bite of his snack.  
—You'd better live while you can. —Both men withdrew from the wall and went their way, until they disappeared from Jack's sight.

« _Are the graves being looted? This is odd... and worrying. I will talk about this tomorrow with Aaron, for now I just want to sleep._ » _  
_Jack now had another case on his list. He went on his way home thinking about all his problems.  
It seems that not even after death do people stop disappearing.

On the street near the centre, there were a couple of cousins taking the road home.Allen was walking with a lot of euphoria, jumping over the small ponds of rain that were formed, and opening his mouth to taste the drops that were falling.  
Lewis noticed the boy's action and soon began his negativity regarding his behavior.  
—Yuck, stop it kid, don't do that... —He said with displeasure.  
—I always looked at the drops that were falling out of the windows of my house, and I even made runs to see which drop was falling faster. And I always wanted to know what they tasted like!  
—Kid, it's only water. Dirty water, there's nothing special about it  
—Nope, it's not! It's refreshing and cold!  
The dead young man just rolled his eyes and kept walking beside the little boy, making sure he didn't stray too far from him.

Suddenly, a tall little boy, slightly taller than Allen and with red, curly hair, ran out into the street, amidst his laughter and haste, the little boy didn't know where he was going and ended up bumping into Lewis' legs.  
The little boy fell down sitting on the ground. Allen was stunned to see another boy his age. Almost as surprised as when he saw Annie's grandfather.  
—Hey, are you hurt? Are you okay? —Lewis asked the boy who had fallen as he held out his hand.Almost suddenly the redheaded boy got to his feet and ran again. As he ran, he answered the young man.  
—Yes, all right, goodbye!  
Allen looked again and again at the direction in which the boy ran and the side from which he came, thinking that perhaps there were more children in that area, he ran in that direction.  
Lewis also accelerated his steps so as not to lose sight of him again as he did yesterday...

Turning the corner there was a school. It would soon open, receiving more children to give them learning and education.There was an elderly man outside, his baldness was prominent. He had a big belly too, but he seemed to hide a little with the pile of clothes he was carrying, as he was also wearing a waterproof jacket.However, he was under a small wooden roof, the man was holding a pile of leaves in his hands.  
—Oh... he's just a fat man... —said Allen disappointedly.  
—Might he be the director? —asked Lewis.  
—Oh yes, you have to convince him to let me go to school! —said Allen excitedly as he shook his cousin's clothes.  
—Why do you want to go to school? You can read and write, there's no point...  
—But I want friends! Like the boy who bumped into you earlier! —replied Allen as he pouted, trying to convince Lewis with his eyes.  
Lewis then understood the situation again, Allen was not just any kid, all his childhood was lived with his parents who were now dead.

He must have known more people, had friends his own age, not just had dead people associated with him.  
But then? Suspicions would be raised, if the little boy was born and raised in Nethertown, how could he never have gone to the local school?  
His family would be investigated and soon the truth would be discovered. You should think of a plan in case they find out.  
  
  
—Maybe later, kid... I think I should convince your parents first.  
The child's expression changed completely to a discouraged one.  
—Okay... —he said almost in a choppy voice.  
Lewis felt really bad seeing him like that, but he had no choice. Maybe he would look for a way to get friends soon. She tried to fix the matter a bit to change the little boy's dismal expression.  
  
—Do you want me to take you to the park? There may be more children there for you to play with. —He commented on this option, seeking to alleviate Allen's situation.  
—Really? Yes, then let's go! —replied Allen with the same joy as a few minutes ago.  
And together, they walked for a few minutes until the rain stopped. They arrived at a small square where there was a kiosk and a few small trees.  
  
  
In the kiosk was a group of a few children, they were all running and playing with each other.  
There was also a bench which caught Lewis' attention and he quickly went to sit on it.  
He was relaxed, sitting and stretching his limbs. There was no need to, he was dead after all. It was still his habit...  
  
  
Allen only approached him a little fearfully. The young man turned him over to look at him from head to toe.  
—So? Are you not going to go and play with the children?  
—It's just that I'm afraid... I don't know how to talk to them, I've never talked to one. —answered Allen with shyness.  
—You are a child, socializing is much easier at your age. I don't know... just go and ask them what they play at and if you can play with them too. Simple.  
  
  
Allen seemed unsure, but took courage to approach the group of children. He had a sure step but his legs were shaking a little. Finally, he talked to a little girl who had some nice braids.  
The girl looked at him uncertainly...  
—Hello, ehm... What are you playing now? —he asked uncertainly.  
—I've never seen you before, what's your name?  
—My name is Allen —he replied timidly.  
—Allen... I'm Cassey, do you want to play? —asked the girl naturally.  
  
  
Allen just filled himself with happiness again and nodded, as he looked back at Lewis with joy, as if he were trying to tell him with his eyes something like "It worked!  
It didn't take long for all the children to be running around, between laughter and shouts of joy of which Allen was unaware until now.  
  
  
From time to time, when they got tired of running, they would sit and talk on the ground or in the fresh grass of the place. A couple of times they even climbed the trees, and like cats, they didn't know how to get down again until Lewis intervened in their rescue...  
The afternoon arrived and many of the children started to leave, as well as parents coming to take the little ones away.  
  
  
Lewis then got up from the bench and went with Allen.  
—So did you have fun?  
—Yes, a lot! Her name is Cassey and she has a sister called Alice and the boy's name is Matt and they like trains and, and, and they go to school It was great!  
  
  
Lewis put a slight smile on his face, which faded when Allen said:  
—Why didn't papa want me to have this experience?  
The young man then had all sorts of mixed feelings... not only did he feel guilty about the late Edward, but he also felt some courage towards him.  
  
  
—Come on Allen, let's go home, it's time to eat.  
The boy then went with slight joy to him and to take him by the hand.  
—You are like my papa, but more fun... Can I call you funny papa?  
—Absolutely not! Just call me Lewis...  
—... Okay, fun dad. —replied Allen mischievously with laughter.  
  
  


They had finally come home. Everything seemed to be in order.  
The young man opened the door and Allen rushed into the house, unaware of the letter lying on the floor. It had been shoved between the gap in the floor and the door.  
  
  
Lewis bent down to pick it up and see who the letter was from.  
I can only see what was written on it: To Lewis.  
He quickly hid the letter in his suit.  
  
  
—Kid, take a bath, I'll make lunch in a while! —Lewis shouted from the door.  
—Very well! —Allen was heard from down the hall.  
When the young man made sure the boy could not know what he was doing, he immediately went upstairs to the guest room to read the letter in question.  
  
  
When he reached the bedroom, Lewis quickly opened the letter, and from it fell a couple of notes, worth about two weeks' worth.  
Inside was the sheet with the written message.

_My dear son:_ _I am sorry that we have forced you to take care of the child, but you must learn from your actions. However, we will not leave you alone. I left you some money to take care of the child._ _The rot in your body is retained by the pearl that was in the lamp, but this effect does not last forever._ _You must go and visit Doctor Lucaá Paganini. He will know what to do, I have already informed him of this. I wrote down his address on the back._ _I'll come and visit you soon. Be good._

_  
— With love, Marcus_

_«A doctor, huh? At least he informed him of his dead son's condition... I wouldn't have wanted to imagine his surprise.»_  
Lewis then bent down to collect the money that had fallen and put it on the small bedside table next to him.  
 _«Tomorrow perhaps I will go out with the boy to buy more food... it is a saving, he is the only one who needs it.»_  
The young man left the room to go to the kitchen. He sighed deeply in tranquillity.  
—Seeing a doctor, investigating where that cursed relic is and now... knowing why the boy lived in exile... maybe I need him to be at school to investigate all this in peace...


	4. Old times, old friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus got more problems looking for Lucaá, his old friend.  
> And so, Lewis seems to be more concerned about the mystery at the Mortensens' mansion.  
> Are you sure you do know well your old friends?  
> Will you trust them...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a drawing of Marcus and Luna that I couldn't finish.  
> Sorry if that scene seems empty.

It seems usual for treasure hunters to go out in the early hours of the morning.   
The reason is simple: it is at these hours that they are best at being cautious, there aren't usually many people on the street other than the criminals...

A few hours after sunset, during the night's abyss, Marcus had arrived at a hospital almost on the outskirts of the city.  
It wasn't a very big hospital, after all, it was built on private property. It had been in operation for many years, and often did not charge for its services, so it was a good option for the poor.  
  


Marcus opened the door of this intriguing hospital, the entrance was the relatively small reception area, where at a circular wooden desk sat a young nurse who greeted him.  
—Good evening, how can I help you?  
—Excuse me, I'm looking for Dr. Lucaá. Is he here?  
—Of course! —replied the nurse with a smile.   
—Follow the corridor to the left, he has just seen another patient —She added as she pointed the way with her hands.

Marcus obeyed the sweet nurse and slowly walked down the long corridor of the hospital.  
He looked between the rooms with the door ajar that were in the corridor, in many of them there were people on the stretchers, some were still sleeping, others remained watching around them with some bandages on some part of the body.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to him.  
—Long time no see, you old bag of bones!  
Marcus turned instantly. There stood Lucaá, at the end of this long corridor.

Physically, Lucaá was quite tall, the kind of man who took care of his face, for his beard was very symmetrical and gave the impression of elongating his face.His pointed moustache had a perfect curvature. It was suspected that he was about the same age as Marcus, but Lucaá did not show any grey hair or wrinkles.  
From the glasses clipped to his nose, he gave the impression of a wise guy, but his curly, reddish—brown hair, with a lock down the centre of his face, gave the impression that he was also a joker.  
He wore his long white dressing gown, under which he wore his grey cloth waistcoat and a loosened navy blue bow tie. His legs were covered by a pair of impeccable ochre coloured pantaloons, finishing with black loafers.  
—How are you, Lucaá? Yeah, it's been a while... —replied Marcus in a nostalgic voice.

The talkative doctor approached Marcus and patted his back in a friendly manner while shaking his hand.   
—Come on, tell me all about it, how have you been? —asked Lucaá as they both walked down the corridor.  
—Oh, I just came to ask you a favour, I don't want to take up your patients' time. —commented the leader a little embarrassed.  
—No, no, go ahead! At this hour it's rare for someone to look for me.

Lucaá hurried to open one of the doors in the corridor and invited Marcus in first.  
The room was similar to that of a psychologist, it seemed that Lucaá was a doctor specialising in many branches, or perhaps he was just a friend who liked to listen.  
The leader of the treasure hunters sat in one of the chairs while Lucaá lay down, very relaxed on the therapy couch.

It was a curious situation: while Marcus was venting all his stress with words, almost in a trembling voice and teary eyes, Lucaá was relaxed and lying down listening calmly to everything.  
—Well, it was a difficult time... if it gives you any comfort to know, the suspicious activities of witches are done by others who are close to Nethertown. —Lucaá said as he turned his body to look at the ceiling.  
—Yes, it seems so, but if they find out that we, the treasure hunters are hiding here, all our efforts will go down the drain.... I'd better look for another house in another city, just to be safe...  
—It wouldn't hurt, but before you go to a big expense like that, you'd better send your boys to keep an eye on the city. —the doctor replied as he sat up to face his friend.

Marcus took a deep sigh and continued:  
—I came looking for you to help one of them....  
—Oh yeah? —he asked incredulously.  
The old leader told Lucaá about everything that had happened with the peculiar situation of his dead son, Lewis.  
Everything that happened with him, leaving out the part about the murder of the Mortensens. Lucaá might be a loyal friend, but you shouldn't tell everyone about your son's crimes either...

—So he died... And you trapped his spirit in his corpse? I've heard about "being dead inside" but this is something new, hahaha!  
—Enough Lucaá, don't mock... —commented Marcus a bit stubbornly.  
Lucaá continued to laugh at his joke, until he decided to stop laughing so as not to make his guest any more uncomfortable.  
The doctor gave a big sigh.  
—So, you're giving me the confidence to dissect the undead boy "alive"?  
—Don't say it so crudely-- —Marcus replied somewhat annoyed. —Yes, that's basically it... —he added resignedly.  
—Sure, I'll help your boy. It might be suspicious if his body starts to rot. When will I see him?  
—I'll tell him to come and see you soon. He's still... busy with some issues, I don't know when he'll have his schedule free.  
—It shouldn't take long, Marcus. The pearl only retains its state for a few days. After that, the bacteria will do their thing... Plus the warlocks are looking for corpses lately for a reason I don't know yet... —Lucaá added as he got up from the couch and went to one of the windows in the room.

—What was that? —Marcus questioned with surprise and a slight fear in his body.—Some of the graves have been looted. Many citizens thought they were stealing the bodies of the deceased from random years, but it turns out they are now taking bodies from recent times... no idea why they would do such a thing, but I'm telling you for sure it's something bad. —replied the doctor.   
With his fingers he opened the curtain that covered the office window.The darkness of the night had lifted considerably, turning a beautiful indigo blue. Up to the horizon, a blue sky was slowly trying to take over a large part of it.  
  
—What do you think? We've been here long enough.—Damn, I have to go back home... —Marcus said as he got up in a hurry.—I'd tell you to stay a little longer, but you're so stubborn I won't waste my breath.... Visit me when you can, okay?—I will... thank you very much indeed, Lucaá. —And so, the old leader turned around and walked straight to the door of the room.  
  
—Wait! —Lucaá commented as he hurried towards his friend.Before Marcus could even ask what was going on, Lucaá had him tightly in his arms.  
—I'm so glad you're okay, really. You gave me a pleasant surprise. Be careful, and don't stay away for so long, okay?Marcus just patted his back gently.  
—I'll try not to, thank you.  
  
The old doctor escorted him outside, where with a last friendly hug, the old friends said goodbye. Marcus slipped into the shadows so as not to be seen by anyone until he reached the depths of the forest.Lucaá only turned around and walked back inside his hospital, he took a few steps until he stopped with the nurse at the reception desk.  
—Where is Henry? —Lucaá asked the receptionist.  
—He's not here yet doctor, it'll be his check in time soon... —commented the girl as she pointed to the clock hanging on the wall.  
—That silly dentist... —mumbled the doctor with some annoyance as he walked past....

Birds were beginning to sing in the trees... for a forest, hundreds of birdsongs were audible for many hours. The sun had already risen, and the warm atmosphere indicated a bright sunny dawn.  
Luna stood outside the hut, waiting for Marcus to return, making her discontent known by standing with her arms folded, a frown on her face and a twitch in her toes.  
She was somewhat annoyed, after all, her father had left while she slept, without somehow letting her know where he would be.  
  
Slowly, the figure of Marcus came into view from the trees of the forest. He seemed to be quite tired, having walked for hours without food or water.  
—Where the hell have you been?! —Luna exclaimed furiously, almost raising her voice.  
Marcus walked agitatedly beside her, ignoring her presence and entering the house.  
—Daughter, please... don't argue so early in the morning...  
  
Stunned by her mentor's reaction, Luna also entered the house to continue arguing with him.  
—You had me worried... Is it THAT hard to at least leave a note?!  
Marcus pulled a wooden chair near the table, when he sat down on it, he made the most sincere gesture of relief he had made in a long time.  
—I went with an old friend... the night got short between all the talking... I haven't seen him in years. —he answered between gasps.  
—Ah, no wonder... All old men are the same. —Luna began to pour a cup of water from the pitcher on a piece of furniture.

  
The glass was overflowing a little, but it didn't matter. The girl then handed the cup to Marcus, who quickly began to drink the water that had been poured for him.  
Luna poured a second drink for herself and sat her body lightly on the table.  
—So... What was the talk with your friend about? If I may know. —after that, she took a big sip from her glass.  
—He can help your brother with the situation of being a corpse and a ghost at the same time... Lewis's body is probably rotting, and that can cause big problems: For one thing, if that kid or a citizen discovers it, there would be complete chaos... terror would be all over the city, goodbye to caution  
—That's why Hazel said we should shut up the loudmouth at the market... although yesterday he said she was the tramp who ran with Lewis and that kid. She probably got some information out of him and shut her mouth —Luna answered, looking intently at the bottom of her glass, which apparently wasn't entirely clean.  
  
—And on the other hand, there's the fact that the warlocks are looking for corpses lately  
—What? Why?! —asked the girl, again, almost raising her voice, but this time it was out of surprise to hear such a fact.  
—We don't know yet, but as usual, it's probably not good... back to the subject, I've known this old friend since I came to Nethertown  
—When you adopted me? —she asked intrigued.  
—Shortly before that... —Slowly, Marcus rose from his chair and set his empty glass on the table.—The reason I distanced myself from him was because I didn't want him to get too involved in all this stuff... specifically, I stopped hanging out with him when we found Lewis, because he... you know. He was a--  
—Ugh, yeah, I know! Because _he was a warlock_ and you thought it would be a good idea to keep it from everyone... —Luna replied rather indignantly, ready to walk out of the conversation at any moment.  
—Look, I'm sorry, I know, it was my fault... but he was just a kid...

Luna immediately interrupted Marcus, even before he finished his words.  
—And look at the examples he followed! Killing innocents for that stupid relic!  
—He saved you years ago! How can you despise him now?  
—I don't want to owe my life to a sorcerer when they dragged me down into this misery!  
—Shut up, Luna, that's enough! —Marcus exclaimed in a firm, strong voice, nothing compared to the wheezing voice he had a few moments ago.  
  
Marcus' authoritative voice echoed in the room and Luna silenced in that instant. Slowly the girl lowered her gaze in arrogance. Distressed but still proud, Luna set her glass down on the table, almost slamming it against the furniture, overflowing some of the water.  
As she walked out of the house, she sarcastically whispered:  
—You pushed your friends away to protect that dirty warlock? Glad to know you don't have favourites... —and with a loud slam of the door, Luna had left the hut.  
  
The old leader was left alone in the room, with an empty feeling in his chest. He just sighed in sadness and put the chair back in its place.  
Perhaps it wasn't the best time to force an apology, he didn't want to hurt his daughter again by being hot-headed with anger. Not again.  
—He wasn't a warlock, he was a child.... —he muttered to himself.

Still depressed, he went to the bedroom dresser on the other side of the room. From one of the drawers he took out an envelope and a blank sheet of paper.  
He took a pencil and sat down in a chair.

Settling himself on the table, his hand began to move to trace the words on the paper. He took some money out of his purse and placed it in the envelope, which read, «To Lewis« along with the written paper.  
  
«As long as I live, I will be helping my children»  
He tossed the letter into his bag and left the hut as well. Looking around, he tried to find his daughter, but she was absent.  
—She will come back... and we'll have a talk.  
And so Marcus walked to the Mortensen mansion....

Allen had already enjoyed the day: he had finally played with children his own age, he had his cousin lost, and little by little, he got to know more of the world that had been denied him from the beginning.

But the day had come to an end. After he had bathed and eaten, once again, some tasteless porridge for dinner, he lay down on his bed.  
He couldn't close his eyes to sleep, he was anxious and euphoric, thinking of tomorrow; the adventures that would knock on his bedroom window at sunrise.

«I'm going to convince Lewis to let me go to school, even if it's just for a few days... and when dad comes back, I'll get out of there.... Or maybe I'll try to convince him too!»

In his striped pyjamas, he got up and guided by the moonlight, took his little blank book from his side table, and began to write down all the plans he would have, all the hopes Lewis brought him by letting him into his life.

On the other hand, that sleep-deprived corpse, and in turn, the tired ghost, lay sleepless in the living room. He paced up and down the corridors.  
He turned sideways to look at the pictures of Leonora and Edward around the house, and after looking straight into the eyes of the pictures, he quickly turned his head away with obvious guilt.

«Hazel always told me I'll make the best of any situation, I'll do some useful research now that I can't sleep...» he thought.  
He walked through the house, moving from the living room to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the bathrooms, from the bathrooms to the entrance....

He almost overlooked a small door under the stairs. His attention was drawn to the fact that this door did not seem to lead to another room on the first floor, namely. next to the stairs was the living room.

It was too thin to allow for the existence of a room, so why put a door? Perhaps it led to a deep place?  
—Could it be the basement? —he asked as he tried to turn the knob on the door, which refused to open despite his actions.  
—Hmm... Locked. Well, a basement isn't much of a mystery after all... —Lewis then went to the hidden furniture in the rooms he frequented the least.

There were chests of drawers, tables, bookcases, and wooden countertops, most of them a beautiful oak colour.  
«Ugh, stop it Lewis... because of your ineptitude to believe that the relic would be here, you orphaned that child.... Stop looking for something that was never there in the first place.» he said to himself in his mind, giving up on finding any clues to any relic associated with the Mortensens.

Thinking now to learn more about this family rather than the relic, the young corpse decided to spend the night reading a book written by Edward, perhaps.

Lewis, would be what is defined as a lazy reader.  
He was very selective with his tastes: he didn't like books with thick pages and complicated stories. If it was a big book, it would be better if it was an anthology.

With his hand on his chin, he ran his eyes over the sides of the books, looking for a title that caught his attention.  
His eyes came across a red-coloured book, the letters of the title of which read: "Cheeky Tales".  
  
«How about this one?» and he began to pull the book out of the pile.  
It was a rather thick book, with some dust on it. Gently, he blew some air over it to clean it, the author's letters were now legible: «Evans Grimm». 

A curious case, he would imagine such a title would come hand in hand with the deceased Edward.  
«Grimm... And to think I ended up just like you.» he thought sarcastically as he turned the pages of the book.

The pages stopped as between them was a bookmark. It was a beautiful paper bookmark, with a picture of a sunset painted in acrylic.  
  
Lewis picked it up and looked at it from every angle.—So pretty... —And then he placed the bookmark at the front of the cover so that he could see the contents of the pages.  
  
He sat down on the small sofa in the room, almost lying on it, without losing his usual elegant posture. Still without reading the index of the book, he decided to read the pages wrapped around the beautiful bookmark.  
It was a story called "Timothy the Skeleton".  
  
 _Timothy was a disobedient and rebellious boy. When he wasn't climbing trees, he was running around the house.  
  
_ _One cold winter afternoon, Timothy's parents left the house, leaving him alone with a clear warning:  
  
_ _"No matter how cold it gets, don't turn on the heater."  
  
_ _When the parents left, the house gradually seemed to turn to pure ice.  
  
_ _And the little boy, being so disobedient, turned on the heating.  
  
_ _The house was finally starting to get nice and warm, until a huge roar came from the heater and then it burst into flames.  
  
_ _Set on fire, Timothy felt relaxed with the warmth he had, even as his skin peeled away._ _Gradually, the fire turned him into a skeleton.  
  
_ _When the parents arrived, they found not their little Timothy, but an ugly skeleton dancing in flames.  
  
_ _"Monster! Get out!" shouted the parents, quite frightened, throwing the skeleton out of their house.  
  
_ _Since then, Timothy's skeleton wanders through the snow, inciting the other children to do bad things.  
  
_ _That is the cruel fate of any child who is disobedient._  
  
—Wha... What kind of story is this? —Lewis asked indignantly.He quickly flipped to the back cover of the book, whose description read:"Compilation of horrifying tales for spoiled children written by Evans Grimm."  
  
—Such machiavellian lessons from this man... —He closed the book and got up from the sofa to return it to its place.Carefully, he saw that the entire section of the bookcase was made up of books written solely by Evans.Cheerful names like "Fantastic Fables" or "Poetry Garden" and even a couple of books that made up a story called "Mary's Thousand Journeys".Nothing related to the book he had just read. Among other titles that really seemed to be written with good intentions, extraordinary narratives for the heart.  
  
«I guess after a while you get tired of writing in the same genre... although his style changed quite a bit.» Lewis commented to himself with that observation.  
  
Perhaps he would leave the reading for another time? Although, in a house full of crowded bookshelves, it's not as if there was anything else to do to kill the time.  
With no other activity to distract his mind from all his problems, he tried to find what else he was looking at in the dresser drawers.  
  
As suspected, there was nothing of interest inside them.Old absurd errands that said, "New curtains and more bread to buy."«Well, I could clean this up later...» he said to himself as he took the old errand and crumpled it up in his skeletal hands.  
  
After removing the old paper, in the background was an old photo.Curious, the young dead man picked it up.  
  
The photo looked a little burnt around the edges, as if the fire had extinguished part of it. It took him a moment, but he made out a person in the photo.

The man in the centre was Edward, perhaps in his youth, on his face, he did not have his large moustache.  
It seemed that to his right was a woman, with a slightly false smile on her face.

And just to Edward's left there was another person in the photo, but his silhouette had been erased from memory thanks to the burn on the photo. Couldn't even tell the gender of that person.  
  
Was that burn the product of resentment or just an unfortunate accident?  
It was perfectly delineated, it was as if they were trying to erase the existence of this person in such a precious memory....

«Who was this person?»

Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the ceiling, as if someone had dropped something very heavy on the floor above.  
—Kid? Allen! —Lewis shouted from below.

Receiving no answer, he immediately went upstairs until he reached the little boy's room.  
To his surprise, there was a large wardrobe lying on the floor, and all the way at the bottom was Allen with a pile of stuffed animals and toys on his bed.  
—Are you all right? What happened here? —asked Lewis as he rounded the wardrobe to get closer to the boy.  
—I saved the one—man band! —Allen replied jubilantly as he held up his arm and showed him a little wooden man with lots of drums and trumpets around him.  
—Really? —he asked stubbornly.  
—It's just that they were all alone up there in the wardrobe, and when I climbed up to save them, the wardrobe fell to the floor. Almost out of nowhere. —said Allen in his defence.

Lewis smoothly lifted the wardrobe and put it back in place, until he noticed that one of its legs had broken, possibly from the impact.  
Holding the wardrobe with both arms, Lewis directed the boy to fetch a book or something thick that could support some of the weight of the piece of furniture.

The little boy quickly ran for a couple of books and handed them to his cousin, who deftly placed them under the cabinet, allowing it to be completely fixed.  
—Hey, what strength you have! —commented Allen in amazement.  
—Let's just say I don't really feel anything —Lewis replied calmly.  
—What? —he asked puzzled.  
—Nothing... More importantly, why haven't you gone to sleep?  
—Oh yes, I'll show you! —the boy began to search through all his stuffed animals for the little notebook he had a few moments ago.  
  
The young man sat on the boy's bed, waiting for him to find what he wanted to show him.  
After a brief search, Allen pulled out the notebook and quickly opened it to find the pages where he had written down his ideas.

—Here I wrote a detailed plan on how I can go to school, even a little bit, and then maybe I can convince dad! —he said as he showed Lewis the written pages of his notebook.  
Lewis was about to take the notebook in his hands, until, almost out of nowhere, Allen threw the notebook.  
—But since I know you can't read, I'll explain.  
—Kid, why do you assume I can't read?

Ignoring his question, Allen began to explain his great plan to convince his father and cousin to let him study at the school.  
—First: You'll let me go while my parents are still out of town, only if you take care of me before and after I go in there. We'll tell my dad about it and he'll see that it's safe, okay?  
—Ahem, excuse me? —Lewis asked as he arched his eyebrow.

—Secondly, I'll try to shine in there, and when my dad sees that I'm finally being perfect, he'll love it and let me stay! —added the little boy.  
—Perfect? —asked Lewis again, who was again ignored by the boy.

—Third: For the money it will be easy, my dad doesn't write anymore but he still keeps a lot of money he made with his books, hehe. —commented Allen with his typical mischievous grin.  
—So he's retired from writing? —asked the corpse in a low voice.  
—Shh! Don't interrupt or I'll forget! —said the boy as he covered his cousin's mouth with both hands.  
—Ok, in case papa won't allow it, I'll accept to go on living locked up, and that's fine... —he added with slight discouragement.  
—But in the best case scenario, I'm already getting ready! —he said suddenly enthusiastic. 

—I've never spoken to other children, well... just the ones this afternoon. But I'm nervous! It's being around a lot of kids I don't know for many hours.... It's terrifyingly exciting! So I wanted to practice controlling that feeling by having a meeting with all my toys.

Allen removed his hands from Lewis' face and showed him his large collection of stuffed animals and toys,  
—I was in a training class, talking to my stuffed animals as if they were other children, but I think they like me, I hope it's easy.

Seeing Allen's eagerness to study, the young man could find no way to deny him the opportunity that he most desired, but he also knew that he could not stay with Allen for too long, as well as he could not hide the true whereabouts of his parents.

—Listen, boy...

Allen turned to look at him quickly, his eyes even bigger than they were. All the illusion was dazzling in his eyes. Lewis felt bad about what he had planned to say in his mind, so he went on to do the third thing he knew best: lie.

Lewis sighed deeply, and replied, realizing that taking care of this child would be harder than it looked.

—Don't spend your father's money, you'll go to school out of my pockets.  
—Are you serious?! I'm so happy!

Allen started jumping up and down on the bed in excitement as he threw his stuffed animals in the air. The corpse decided to break his bubble of happiness for a little clarification.  
—But only as long as I can afford it! Is that clear?  
—Yes, yes, doesn't matter! —said the little boy as he hugged him tightly.  
—Tomorrow I'll see to some requirements, but for now go to sleep, OK?

Allen threw all his toys on the floor, and with one big jump on the bed, he lay with his head on his pillow, with only the pile of stuffed animals covering its edges.  
—As clear as crystal! Good night! —and instantly, Allen closed his eyes tightly, almost as if trying to convince Lewis that he was already asleep.

He was about to say something to the boy, something like "Stop pretending", but Lewis decided to believe him. He got out of bed and closed the bedroom door.  
  
Maybe he would try to read a book again? Maybe...

The night is always young under Nethertown, which was why the officers had stayed late, going past their evening shift.

Maybe Aaron was doing it for the pay, but he was also doing it to support his friend Jack, who, during his day off, took the opportunity to gather more information on the missing people, thanks to some information he got from the residents.

The pair of officers were in Jack's office, Aaron was sitting at the desk upstairs while his partner was writing in his notebook with great concentration, cleaning up all the data he had gathered.  
—Well, there are two things clear here. First: we have a serious case of social inequality with the missing homeless. Second: you have some very strange breaks, Jack....  
—I went home but uncertainty kept me from resting, so I went out on the town again to ask for more information. —Jack said without taking his eyes off what he was writing in his notebook.  
—Are you sure about the graverobbers? That sounds strange. I've only heard of such cases in the town of Bleakmore, but I'm talking about many years ago. They never solved that case. Of course, the families of the deceased were furious, but despite the years they never found those responsible.

He noticed that Jack didn't even pay attention to him, or so it seemed to his eyes. Aaron followed up with a few words that he was sure would get his friend's attention.  
—Of course, Bleakmore is known for having a lot of witch——Suddenly, Jack stopped writing and looked him straight in the eyes after interrupting his words.  
—If you say what I think you're going to say, I swear I'll lose my temper. —he said more wearily than threateningly.

Aaron just smiled slightly.  
—Relax, I'm just saying what I've heard from the other cities.

Obstinate, Jack went back to his writing as Aaron came down from the desk.  
—Will you really not consider them? I understand that ghosts don't, but perhaps these warlocks exist and might be a threat.  
—And why do you seem to agree so much from one day to the next? Just a few days ago you were the one who told Miss Bell that she was crazy with all of her blathering.

Aaron just shrugged, as if he was offended, but really he was rather embarrassed.  
—Well, I can change my mind... or maybe it's these cheap doctors.  
—Doctors? —asked Jack, a little astonished.  
—Yes, some of them steal skeletons and fresh bodies for their medical studies. Sure, without any permission. —he replied as he left the office. —I'll go make some coffee, do you want some?  
—Yes, please... —Jack replied as he carved at the prominent bags under his eyes.

He moved slightly away from his desk to stretch a little. Twisting slightly, a few bones in Jack's body cracked, making him feel a little more relaxed.  
«So, doctors... If I can't find those missing people, I'll find the grave robbers.»

—Hey Aaron, where are the archives of the licensed establishments? —he shouted from his seat.  
—In administration, down the corridor past the boss's office! —Aaron replied from a distance.  
Jack thought for a few seconds, until he stood up from his seat, ready to go after those files.

He had barely left his office when his partner was waiting for him outside, a couple of cups of coffee in each hand.  
Not noticing his presence, Aaron spoke normally.  
—Just don't poke around the boss's office, or else she'll demote you again.

Like a cat, Jack's fur bristled after a slight jump.  
—You scared me, dummy! —Almost out of breath, he placed a hand on his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Aaron laughed and walked into his friend's office while Jack just looked at him stubbornly, his scare was not funny to him at all.  
He continued on his way until he reached the administration room.

The room was small, it had four walls, yet it was crammed with file cabinets full of documents, and still on top of these pieces of furniture, there were cardboard boxes filled with even more files. Jack began to search through the drawers of each one. It took him a while until he managed to find four different hospital files, whose license was not fully recognised by the city.

He took the four folders and brought them back to his office, where Aaron was taking a big sip of his coffee.  
—Did you find what you wanted?  
—Yes, look. —And he handed one of the files to Aaron, who, after setting his cup down on the desk, began to read the document.  
—And some of these doctors have a track record of petty crime here in the city... but apparently they've managed to stay afloat. —he commented after a quick glance at the folder.

Jack placed the other files on his desk, beginning to read the middle one.  
—This one's license has expired only, it's not that serious... it's in the name of... Lucaá? —he said as he arched his eyebrows, puzzled by the extravagance of the name.  
—I'm sure he's a foreigner, like you. —Aaron replied, and then continued sipping his coffee.  
—Yeah, probably... Anyway, the other hospitals sound more dangerous, I'll give priority to those.

Jack took from Aaron's hand the other document he had given him moments before.  
—Starting with this one.  
—You'll need help, do you want me to come with you?  
—That wouldn't be bad, yes, please. —Jack commented as he raised his hands to take his cup.

With the sip he took of his coffee, Jack seemed to regain a little more of his humanity. He gave a slight smirk of satisfaction as he tasted his favourite beverage.  
—Do you think these grave robbers are also the ones who are responsible for the disappearance of the other people? —Aaron asked.  
—I don't know, I don't think so... it would be great though, you know? We'd be solving two cases with one shot. —He replied with a chuckle, a slight hope in his blue eyes.

Almost immediately, Jack withdrew his smiling hope, only to be filled with uncertainty.  
—I just hope those missing people are okay and not... you know, dead... —He ducked his head slightly.

Aaron just patted his shoulder.  
—You're the hope of those people, don't lose your hope or else those people will be lost too.  
—True... —he replied.  
—We will start the investigations tomorrow, for now we have to go home. —He added as he put all the documents on his desk.  
—Of course... Do you want me to take you home?  
—I'll be fine, Aaron, I'll walk for today.

Both officers left the flat, turning off the lights and closing the apartment doors.  
In the darkness of the night, each went on their way, knowing the day that awaited them tomorrow.  
It's hard, when you're a hope in someone else's eyes, you feel compelled to never lose yours.


End file.
